In the northern part of the Gaza Strip Saturday, Israeli snipers stationed in a guard tower at the border shot and injured a farmer who was tending his land and allegedly got too close to the ‘no man’s land’ established by Israeli troops.The ‘no man’s land’ is a wide stretch of land in the crowded Gaza Strip that stretches up to 300 meters from the border fence, and encompasses significant a significant amount of Palestinian farmland. Palestinians who enter the area are subject to being shot without warning by Israeli troops stationed along the border.
According to the Gazan Health Minister Ashraf al-Qidrah, the as-yet unidentified young man was shot in his right hand and taken to a nearby hospital.
No further information was given about the incident, and the Israeli military did not issue a statement.
Palestinian officials have long called on Israel to stop shooting Palestinian farmers along the border, and consider the ‘no man’s land’ to be an infringement on their sovereignty. In the past, children, mentally-disabled adults and dozens of farmers have been shot and killed in this zone.
