Gaza Protests Quietest in Months, Israel Injures 32 in Crackdown

Troops continued to fire bullets, tear gas at unarmed protesters

Jason Ditz 

Posted onNovember 2, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsGaza, Israel

Hamas and Islamic Jihad delivered on promises to keep the weekly Friday protests in the Gaza Strip peaceful. Reports on the ground are that the protests were the quietest in several months, and that protesters stayed far away from the Israeli border.

Though Hamas has denied directly organizing the protests, many of their supporters participate weekly. Israel has long demanded that they force an end to the weekly protests, and has threatened to invade to impose an end to the demonstrations.

Quiet, peaceful rallies would seemingly be good news, though the Israeli military appears not to have taken it that way, using their usual strategy of opening fire on protesters with live ammunition, and firing tear gas into the crowds. At least 32 protesters were reported injured, seven of them shot.

That’s fewer wounded than most weeks, but that the Israelis still cracked down so much, even with no indications of serious advances on the border fence, suggests Israel intends to continue to greet protests, no matter how peaceful, with violent reactions.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/11/02/gaza-protests-quietest-in-months-israel-injures-32-in-crackdown/