ISRAELIS BREAK TRUCE AND KILL PALESTINIAN IN GAZA

        Jabaliya, 20 Shafar 1435/23 December 2013 (MINA) – Israeli occupation forces shot and killed a Palestinian man near Jabaliya City in the north of the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

        Paramedics said that 22-year old Odeh Hamad was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. He had been shot three times, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported as quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) Monday (23/12).

        According to the Israeli military, Hamad was shot while he was “planting an explosive device with a number of other Palestinians”.

        Witnesses deny this, however, and insist that he was collecting scrap metal in an area close to the ceasefire (“Green”) line.

         Thousands of Palestinians attended the young man’s funeral procession.

         In a separate incident, the Israelis shot and wounded five farmers in Khozaa, to the east of Khan Younis in the east of the Gaza Strip. No further details have been reported.

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man and wounded three others

        Israeli occupation forces killed a Palestinian man and wounded three others in separate incidents Friday in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian health official said.

         Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra in Gaza said 22-year-old Odeh Hamad was killed when he was shot in the head near the border between Gaza and Israel. He said that three civilians were wounded by Israeli fire in a separate incident near the border as they hunted for birds.

         The Israeli occupation military said troops responded with live fire to four incidents along the border Friday. It said some Palestinians threw stones at troops and caused damage to the fence separating Gaza from Israel. The military also said a mortar shell was fired toward Israel, which caused no damage or injuries.

         The Israeli occupation statement did not specifically identify Hamad or the bird hunters, but said that everyone shot was suspected of being involved in one of the incidents.

         “Soldiers attempted to contain these violent events by calling out to the Palestinians but to no avail and in accordance with the incident used live fire,” the military said. It said it identified “several hits.”

         Such shootings have been rare since Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers fought an eight-day battle last year, but occur occasionally. (T/P012/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)