Oh?
Dozens of Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire on Friday as thousands returned to the Gaza border for a sixth week of protests that have seen nearly 50 demonstrators killed.
Let's go over some of the "protest" actions from the article:
Palestinians burned tyres and flew kites, at least one carrying a Molotov cocktail intended to set fire to nearby Israeli fields.
After advancing toward the border fence, protesters would retreat as the Israeli army fired tear gas.
A military spokeswoman said that some of the protesters threw stones at the Israeli forces.
The army also said there was an attempt to "sabotage the security fence and to infiltrate into Israel". ...
Hundreds of Palestinians vandalised the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom goods crossing and torched the pipes that carry fuel and gas from Israel, the army said.
Oh, and about those kites:
Gaza’s flaming-kite squadrons had worked for days to prepare for Friday’s protest along the border with Israel, building hundreds of flimsy-framed sails with tails meant to carry crude incendiary devices, like rags soaked in gasoline.
Their battle plan was to fly them in swarms into Israel with the aim of igniting the dry fields of the rural communities on the other side of the border fence. They were counting on help from a heavy heat wave to fan the fires.
This "battle plan" was for a "protest?" A protest?
In past articles, I've read Palestinians try to break down the fence or plant bombs at the border to hit Israelis on the other side.
Of course Israel shouldn't shoot at actual protesters.
But "protesting" isn't what they are doing. They threaten the border fence. Try to set fire to Israeli property. Throw rocks. Appear ready to cross into Israel. And attacked infrastructure that actually help Palestinians.
These are civilian attackers. And apparently the Israelis fire tear gas when they can.
One wonders what level of "protest" leads to Israeli live fire?
The accusation is that Israel is "disproportionate" in their response.
But this has been going on for weeks. My view is that if your foe keeps coming, your level of force is not "disproportionate."
Mind you, Israel is taking a hit on public relations. Which is worth the body count for Hamas. That's why they keep doing it.
So Israel should alter their tactics to be more effective in denying Hamas their talking points even if the Israelis are under no obligation to handicap their ability to resist these border assaults.
Although honestly, when you have a human wave assault, I'm not sure what "non-lethal" measure would work better than live rounds.
UPDATE: This long Strategypage post has a good section on the Hamas campaign. Including this gem a little farther down:
Another underreported aspect of the Gaza demonstrations is that most (over 70 percent) of the Palestinians killed are known member of Hamas or other Gaza based Islamic terror groups.
I don't think that word "protester" means what the reporters think it means.
