GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed two Palestinians and wounded scores of others taking part in weekly Gaza border protests on Friday, medics said, as Egyptian mediators tried to clinch a truce deal that would calm the impoverished enclave.

A wounded Palestinian girl reacts during a protest demanding the right to return to their homeland at the Israel-Gaza border, in Gaza August 17, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

In Jerusalem’s Old City, another area that Palestinians want for a future state, Israeli police said they shot dead an Arab who attacked them with a knife after leaving a mosque complex.

After a more than four-month surge in confrontations over the Gaza Strip border, Israel this week eased its clampdown on the enclave’s commercial traffic and fishing. Cairo said it was finalizing details of a longer-term accommodation between Israel and the dominant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Some 20,000 people participated in Friday’s protests, which took place a few hundred meters from the fence, though dozens came closer, with some rolling burning tires, witnesses said.

Medics said Israeli gunfire killed two men and wounded at least 270 other Palestinians, 50 of them with live bullets.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had responded with “riot-dispersal means” to prevent breaches of the border.

Friday’s deaths brought to 170 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the weekly protests began on March 30. The campaign is pressing for rights to land that Palestinians lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation, and for an end to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza.

Anger in Gaza has also been stoked by funding cuts by the Western-backed administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which dominates the West Bank and is the rival of Hamas, which runs Gaza. Their efforts at agreeing on a power-sharing unity deal with Egyptian mediation have not borne fruit.

Cairo had no immediate comment on Friday’s incidents.

Hamas official Izzat Reshiq said the group, and other Palestinian factions, concluded a round of talks with Egyptian security officials over a possible truce with Israel and that further talks were scheduled for later this month.

“Efforts will resume after the holiday of Eid Al-Adha,” Reshiq said on Twitter, referring to a Muslim festival that begins on Aug. 21 and ends on Aug. 24.

Israel sees the Gaza protests as a bid by Hamas, against which it has fought three wars in the last decade, to use civilians as cover for cross-border attacks. Hamas denies this.

Separately, Israeli police said they were attacked on Friday by a knife-wielding man after he emerged from a complex housing Al Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third-holiest shrine, in East Jerusalem.

The man was shot dead, police said, describing him as a resident of an Israeli Arab town where pro-Palestinian sympathies are strong. CCTV video from the scene showed a man lunging at a police trooper with a knife, but not what followed.

Palestinians said that, after the incident, Israeli authorities barred Muslim worshippers from Al Aqsa mosque.

“This is a grave escalation that may lead to unpredictable consequences,” Abbas said in a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.</s>Palestinians say 2 killed by Israel fire at Gaza border

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and another 60 injured at a protest along the Gaza border amid ongoing Egyptian efforts to broker a cease-fire, Gaza's Health Ministry said Friday.

The protesters threw rocks and firebombs from behind clouds of black smoke of burning tires at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and sometimes live fire.

Israel's military said some Palestinians also threw improvised explosives and firebombs at the fence and that several were spotted briefly crossing into Israeli territory. It said troops "fired live rounds selectively according to standard operating procedures."

Hamas officials have been meeting with Egyptian officials in Cairo for days, hammering out details of a possible truce with Israel.

Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza's border. In several instances Gaza militants fired rockets and mortars at Israel which responded with airstrikes on Gaza.

Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. Large turnout at the protests has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening.

Abdelatif al-Qanou, a Hamas spokesman, said the protests forced Israel to reconsider its blockade policy. "Our people's sacrifice in the protests will be translated into national achievements soon," he said.

Since the Gaza protests began at the end of March, 168 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 125 protesters, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this same period.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.

Also Friday, Israeli police said officers shot and "neutralized" a 30-year-old man from an Arab town in Israel who tried to stab them as they were on duty in Jerusalem's Old City. Israeli media said the attacker was killed.

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks. Israeli forces killed over 260 Palestinians in that period, most of them attackers.

These attacks were at times daily but have since significantly decreased.

The Palestinians and human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force in some confrontations and of killing Palestinians who did not pose an imminent deadly threat.</s>Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces near the fence separating Gaza from Israel, according to health officials.

Karim Abu Fatayer, 30, died after being shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.

Sa’di Akram Muammar, 26, was killed east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The number of wounded protesters has risen to 270.

Since protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 166 Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave.</s>Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and another 60 injured at a protest along the Gaza border amid ongoing Egyptian efforts to broker a cease-fire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday.

The protesters threw rocks and firebombs from behind clouds of black smoke of burning tires at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and sometimes live fire.

Israel’s military said some Palestinians also threw improvised explosives and firebombs at the fence and that several were spotted briefly crossing into Israeli territory. It said troops “fired live rounds selectively according to standard operating procedures.”

The health ministry named the dead men as Karim Abu Fatayer, 30, shot near the central Gaza Strip town of Bureij and Sadi Moamer, 26, killed near Rafah, in the south.

It said that both men were shot in the head.

Hamas officials have been meeting with Egyptian officials in Cairo for days, hammering out details of a possible truce.

Israel announced on Wednesday that it is reopening a key border crossing with the Gaza Strip. This comes weeks after it was closed amid a surge in violence with the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman wrote in a Facebook post that the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing after nearly two weeks was “a clear message to residents of the Strip: quiet pays and violence doesn’t pay.”

Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza’s border. In several instances Gaza militants fired rockets and mortars at Israel, which responded with airstrikes on Gaza.

Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. Large turnout at the protests has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening.

Abdelatif al-Qanou, a Hamas spokesman, said the protests forced Israel to reconsider its blockade policy. “Our people’s sacrifice in the protests will be translated into national achievements soon,” he said.

Since the Gaza protests began at the end of March, 168 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 125 protesters, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this same period.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.

Also Friday, Israeli police said officers shot and “neutralized” a 30-year-old man from an Arab town in Israel who tried to stab them as they were on duty in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli media said the attacker was killed.

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks. Israeli forces killed over 260 Palestinians in that period, most of them attackers.

These attacks were at times daily but have since significantly decreased.</s>Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.</s>Israel troops on Friday shot dead two Palestinians taking part in protests along the Gaza border, the Palestinian health ministry in the enclave told AFP.

The ministry named the dead men as Karim Abu Fatayer, 30, shot near the central Gaza Strip town of Bureij and Sadi Moamer, 26, killed near Rafah, in the south.

It said that both men were shot in the head.

Another 40 Palestinians were wounded by live bullets while 201 were suffocating after inhaling tear gas, Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.

The Israeli military said it did not know of any deaths but that troops had opened fire in border incidents.

At least 171 Gazans have been killed by Israeli fire since late March, mostly during border clashes and protests.

Protesters demand the "right of return" to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israel's 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave's economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities</s>The Palestinian Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip has confirmed that Israeli soldiers killed, Friday, two Palestinians and injured 270 others, including 60 who were shot with live fire.

The Ministry said the soldiers killed Karim Abu Fatayer, 30, by shooting him with a live round in his head, east of the al-Boreij refugee camp, in central Gaza.

The Palestinian was shot in his eye, and the bullet exited through the back of his head after fracturing his skill and scattering his brain. The slain Palestinian is from Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

Furthermore, the soldiers killed Sa’adi ِAkram Abu Muammar, 26, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Sa’adi is a married father of two daughters, Rahaf, 5, and Aseel, 3, and his wife is seven months pregnant.

The Health Ministry also said the soldiers injured 270 Palestinians in several parts of the Gaza Strip, during the Great Return processions; 166 of them were treated in field clinics, and 104 were rushed to hospitals.

Among the wounded are 60 who were shot with live fire, including 19 children, in addition to nine medics, who were injured by shrapnel or suffered the effects of teargas inhalation.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said the latest Israeli assaults bring the number of slain Palestinians since March 30th, to 170, in addition to 18300 who were injured.</s>Israeli troops killed two Palestinians and wounded scores of other taking part in weekly Gaza border protests today, medics said, as Egyptian mediators tried to clinch a truce deal that would calm the impoverished enclave.

The ministry named the dead men as Karim Abu Fatayer, 30, who was shot near the central Gaza Strip town of Bureij and Sadi Moamer, 26, killed near Rafah, in the south.

Both men were shot in the head.

After a more than four-month surge in confrontations, Israel this week eased its clampdown on the Gaza Strip border and fishing waters.

Cairo said it was finalising the details of a longer-term accommodation between Israel and the dominant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Some 20,000 people took part in Friday's protests, which took place a few hundred meters from the fence, though dozens came closer, with some rolling burning tyres, witnesses said.

Medics said Israeli gunfire killed two men and wounded at least 270 other Palestinians, 50 of them with live bullets.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had responded with 'riot-dispersal means' to prevent breaches of the border.

Friday's deaths brought to the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the weekly protests began on March 30 to 170. The campaign is pressing for rights to land that Palestinians lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation, and for an end to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza.

One Israeli soldier was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper in July.

Anger in Gaza has also been stoked by funding cuts by the Western-backed administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which dominates the West Bank and is the rival of Hamas, which runs Gaza.

Separately, Israeli police said they were attacked on Friday by a knife-wielding man after he emerged from the Jerusalem complex housing Al Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine, and shot him.

The police statement did not immediately give the man's condition. It described him as a resident of an Israeli Arab town where pro-Palestinian sympathies are strong.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, including its Hamas rulers, have fought three wars since 2008 and tensions since late March have led to fears of yet another full-blown conflict.

There have been three intense flare-ups since July, the latest on Thursday, when Israel responded to some 180 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza with widespread air strikes.

An Israeli official said on condition of anonymity Wednesday that truce talks mediated by Egyptian and United Nations officials had reached an initial set of 'understandings' leading to calm on the border over the past few days.</s>Israeli troops killed two Palestinians and wounded scores of others taking part in weekly Gaza border protests on Friday, medics said, as Egyptian mediators tried to clinch a truce deal that would calm the impoverished enclave.

After a more than four-month surge in confrontations, Israel this week eased its clampdown on the Gaza Strip border and fishing waters. Cairo said it was finalising the details of a longer-term accommodation between Israel and the dominant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Some 20,000 people took part in Friday’s protests, which occurred a few hundred metres from the fence, though dozens came closer, with some rolling burning tyres, witnesses said.

Medics said Israeli gunfire killed two men and wounded at least 270 other Palestinians, 50 of them with live bullets.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had responded with “riot-dispersal means” to prevent breaches of the border.

Friday’s deaths brought to 170 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the weekly protests began on March 30th. The campaign is pressing for rights to land that Palestinians lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation, and for an end to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza.

Anger in Gaza has also been stoked by funding cuts by the western-backed administration of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, which dominates the West Bank and is the rival of Hamas, which runs Gaza. Their efforts at agreeing on a power-sharing unity deal with Egyptian mediation have not borne fruit.

Separately, Israeli police said they were attacked on Friday by a knife-wielding man after he emerged from the Jerusalem complex housing al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third-holiest shrine. They shot him.

The police statement did not immediately give the man’s condition. It described him as a resident of an Israeli Arab town where pro-Palestinian sympathies are strong. – Reuters</s>The protesters were throwing rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops, hiding behind clouds of black smoke of burning tires. The Israeli Defense Forces responded with tear gas and live fire.

As the IDF stated, they "fired live rounds selectively according to standard operating procedures," adding that some Palestinians also threw improvised explosives at the fence and several others were spotted trying to infiltrate the Israeli territory.

The weekly protest led by Hamas was aimed to attract attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade, which was set after the militant group took control of Gaza in 2007. Apart of protests, Hamas has currently been holding meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo, seeking a possible truce.

​On August 13, Channel Ten reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several advisers, as well as security guards, visited Cairo on May 22 for talks with Sisi in an effort to settle the crisis around Gaza triggered by the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem and the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, which prompted a Palestinian exodus in 1948.

The next day Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza would reopen if the situation on the border was calm.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using the protests to covering attacks along the country's border with Gaza. The IDF underlined that its actions during the ongoing rallies are aimed to defend Israeli borders.

​The tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians near the Gaza border has been growing since late March, which marked the beginning of the Palestinian protest campaign against Israel, dubbed the Great March of Return. Over 160 Palestinians were killed in clashes since that time.

However, since the beginning of protests, Israel and Hamas reached a number of temporary ceasefire agreements through Egyptian mediation.
Around 20,000 Palestinians protest near the Israel–Gaza barrier. Medical sources say that Israel Defense Forces killed two people and wounded at least 270 others, 50 of them with live bullets.