BFF-57 Thousands at funeral for Gaza volunteer killed on Israel border

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CONFLICT-GAZA

Thousands at funeral for Gaza volunteer killed on Israel border

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, June 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Thousands of
Palestinians attended the funeral Saturday of a young female volunteer medic
killed by Israeli fire in violence on the border in southern Gaza.

Razan al-Najjar, 21, a volunteer with the Gaza health ministry, was
fatally shot in the chest near Khan Yunis on Friday.

Ambulances and medical crews attended the funeral, with her father holding
the white blood-stained medics’ jacket she wore when she was shot, as
mourners called for revenge.

Gazans have since March 30 staged border protests demanding the return of
Palestinians to land they fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war
surrounding Israel’s creation, now inside the Jewish state.

The demonstrations are accompanied by smaller clashes as youths hurl
stones at Israeli soldiers and attempt to breach the border fence, at times
laying explosive devices on the fence or throwing grenades.

Palestinians have also been using kites carrying cans on fire to set
ablaze Israeli fields, torching extensive patches of agricultural land near
Gaza.

The Israeli army on Saturday said the previous day’s violence included
“thousands of rioters” at five locations along the border, “burning tires
adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security
infrastructure”.

Shots were fired at an army vehicle and a Palestinian had crossed into
Israel, planted a grenade and returned to Gaza, it said.

The army said that cases such as Najjar’s “in which civilians are
allegedly killed” by Israeli fire “are thoroughly examined” by an internal
military committee.

The UN envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a tweet that
“Medical workers are #NotATarget!” and that “Israel needs to calibrate its
use of force and Hamas need to prevent incidents at the fence.” The
Palestinian Medical Relief Society said Najjar was shot “as she was
attempting to provide first aid to an injured protester”, with three other
first responders also hit by live fire on Friday.

“Shooting at medical personnel is a war crime under the Geneva
conventions,” the PMRC said in a statement, demanding “an immediate
international response to Israeli humanitarian law violations in Gaza”.

BSS/AFP/FI/ 1918 hrs