ISRAELI FORCES OPEN FIRE AT FARMERS, BIRD HUNTERS IN GAZA

Gaza, 23 Rabi’ul Awwal 1436/14 January 2014 (MINA)– Israeli forces on Tuesday opened fire at Palestinian farmers and bird hunters east of Khan Younis, witnesses said.

Israeli vehicles deployed along the border fence in the al-Fakhari area in the southern Gaza Strip and fired at farmers.

No injuries were reported.

On Jan. 2, a 25-year-old man was shot in both feet from one of the watchtowers near the border with Israel east of Jabaliya in northern Gaza, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Miraj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip if they approach large swathes of land near the border that the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.

The “security buffer zone” extends between 500 meters and 1,500 meters into the Strip, effectively turning local farms into no-go zones.

According to UNOCHA, 17 percent of Gaza’s total land area and 35 percent of its agricultural land were within the buffer zone as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gazans. (T/P010/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)