JERUSALEM (JTA) — At least four Palestinians were reported killed in weekly protests at the border with Gaza.
Terrorist organizations in Gaza said they are weighing a response to the deaths, according to reports.
At least 25 others were wounded in the clashes Friday between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces. The protests at the border, which began in March, are referred to as the “Great March of Return.”
The some 8,000 protesters threw rocks and firebombs at the Israeli troops guarding the border.
“Troops responded with riot dispersal means and fired in accordance with standard operating procedures,” according to an Israeli military spokeswoman.
“Following Israel’s crimes yesterday against non-violent protesters in the March of Return that led to the death of four demonstrators and injuries to dozens, the joint command center is in ongoing consultations,” the military wings of the Gaza terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the anti-Zionist Israeli group Return, which works in solidarity with Palestinians in support of the protests, said in a statement that Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition in the air at over 30 of its members as they marched on Friday through the Israeli military buffer zone on the eastern Gaza border toward a protest camp. The live fire was an attempt to halt and disperse the protesters.
The group met in a public manner with the mother of Palestinian medic Razan Najjar, who was killed at a June 1 protest while working as a medic.
