Palestinian rioters on Gaza border set fire to Israeli fields, 11 Gazans wounded

Palestinian rioters along the Gaza border sent fire kites over the fence on Friday, causing three large blazes in nearby Israeli fields, while 11 Palestinians were reported injured in clashes with the IDF.

The IDF said it fired at two Gazans as they approached the border with Israel on Friday afternoon. The two fled back to Gaza, with Palestinian media reporting they were injured. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry did not confirm the report.

At least 9 others were reported wounded as the IDF fired tear gas and other riot disposal means at the demonstrators who threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers. The army said some 3,000 people were taking part in the demonstrations.

Firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze on the Israeli side. Kites carrying incendiary devices have caused massive damage to fields and nature reserves in Israel.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank some 122,000 Palestinians traveled to Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, the army said, while another 8,200 prayed at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron.

This is the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan and the number of Palestinians who traveled to the city for Friday afternoon prayers was the largest yet this year, according to army statistics.

“IDF troops are deployed in reinforced numbers and are operating along with the Shin Bet, Civil Administration, Border Police and Israel Police in order to allow the Ramadan prayers, as well defending communities and roads and preserving order and security in the area,” the army said.

The army also said it was prepared for a renewal of the violent demonstrations on the Gaza border which have become a regular Friday occurrence since March 30 when the Palestinians held their first weekly “March of Return” protest. Israel says the riots are orchestrated by the Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, and used as cover for attempted terror attacks and breaches of the border fence.

The violent demonstrations were initially slated to end by May 15, when the Palestinians mark Nakba Day commemorating the displacement that followed Israel’s Independence War in 1948. But Hamas leaders said they want them to continue. Turnout at the past three weeks’ clashes has been far smaller than in the initial weeks.

The border tensions comes following a week that saw the worst escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas since the 2014 war in Gaza. Earlier this week, Palestinian terror groups fired over 100 rockets and mortars at towns and cities in southern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces responded with dozens of airstrikes on Hamas military targets. After almost 24 hours of fire, a tacit understanding and unofficial ceasefire began, though both sides have described it as fragile.

A senior army official said Thursday he expected major border protests to resume next week, when the Palestinian mark Naksa Day — the June 5 commemoration by Palestinians of Israel’s victory in the Six Day War. However, he estimated that they would be smaller than those on May 14 and 15, after the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

In the May 14-15 protests, over 60 Palestinians — almost all of them members of the Hamas or Islamic Jihad terror groups — were killed in clashes with the IDF.

Israel says its forces have opened fire to stop attempts to harm soldiers, damage the fence, infiltrate Israel and attempt to carry out attacks. Israel accuses Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.

Israeli officials said that Hamas, which seeks to destroy Israel, was trying to get mobs of Gazans through the fence, including its own gunmen, potentially to carry out attacks inside Israel, and that the IDF’s primary obligation was to ensure that did not happen.

Agencies contributed to this report.