Israeli army attacks Palestinian shepherds near Gaza borderline

Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between the southern Gaza Strip and Israel, Saturday opened their machine gunfire on Palestinians shepherds.

WAFA correspondent said soldiers stationed at watchtowers along the borderline area, opened fire on shepherds to the east of Rafah, in the southern Strip.

Following disengagement from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Israel unilaterally and illegally established a so-called “buffer zone”, an area prohibited to Palestinians along the land and sea borders of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) stated, “The precise area designated by Israel as a “buffer zone” is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire,”

“The establishment of the 'buffer zone’ is illegal under both Israeli and international law.”

The center maintained that, “Enforcing the “buffer zone” through the use of live fire often results in, inter alia, the direct targeting of civilians and/or indiscriminate attacks, both of which constitute war crimes.”

“Preventing Palestinians from accessing their lands and fishing areas violates numerous provisions of international human rights law, including the right to work, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.”

According to the United Nations OCHA 'Protection of Civilians Weekly Report’ covering the period between March29th and April 4th of 2016, “On 30 occasions, Israeli forces opened fire in the Access Restricted Area (ARA) at land and sea in Gaza, injuring two Palestinians as far as 350 meters from the fence.”

According to UNOCHA, 17 percent of Gaza's total land area and 35 percent of its agricultural land lie within the buffer zone as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gaza residents.

Source: WAFA