“The destruction was devastating, but the kibbutz members were determined to recreate a new inviting place for the young generation to meet,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

By The Algemeiner

A new archeology garden was inaugurated at an Israeli kibbutz near the border with the Gaza Strip, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Monday, after a local fruit orchard that served as a gathering spot for children was burned down by a kite-bomb launched from the neighboring Palestinian enclave.

Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a small agricultural community situated less than two miles away from the Gaza Strip, was on the frontlines of a new Palestinian tactic introduced in 2018, during the weekly “March of Return” protests supported by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Palestinian territory. The tactic includes strapping kites and balloons with incendiary devices and launching them across the border into Israeli territory, setting thousands of acres of farmland ablaze.

A fruit orchard at the kibbutz fell victim to such an attack five years ago. “The destruction was devastating, but the kibbutz members were determined to recreate a new inviting place for the young generation to meet,” IAA said in a statement.

Funds were subsequently raised for a new garden that could serve as a community gathering spot, with the help of a crowdfunding campaign and individual donors. It was erected “in a location in the kibbutz that is more accessible to the kindergarten children, the youth, and families who can relax in the shade of the trees,” said Edna Ayash, the IAA’s exhibition curator. “The garden includes planted flower beds, a spice garden, and many trees that are already growing, as well as a playground and a barbecue area, making it a central inviting spot in the kibbutz.”

The garden also boasts an archaeological exhibition modeled on the theme of a household courtyard, which in ancient times was the site of daily foods preparation, baking, washing, and animal care, as well as rainwater collection cisterns.

Artifacts from the State Treasure collections, including “water troughs, a water cistern, grain mills, and a roof roller,” were placed along the garden path, in a bid to show visitors how they were utilized in ancient times. It also features exhibits of ancient industries that had a significant local presence, “including grain and olive oil processing, and water collection, all of which were essential components of ancient agriculture in the Land of Israel,” IAA stated.

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Tensions with the Gaza Strip have escalated over the past week. Most link it to the coming end of monthly payments from Qatar.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

IDF aircraft struck an observation post belonging to the Hamas terror organization in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. The attack was in response to explosive balloons launched from the Strip into Israeli territory.

On Thursday, Palestinian terrorists floated 20 explosive balloons into Israel, signaling a new round of floating arson into Israel. It breaks several months of relative calm in Israel’s south. Balloons have arrived daily since, though in reduced numbers. On Saturday, only two balloons were launched.

However, tensions have escalated. On Sunday, an Israeli construction crew came under attack.

They were working on the underground barrier that Israel had built along the entire 65-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip to prevent tunneling into Israel. When an IDF unit arrived to investigate the reports of gunfire, they, too, were fired upon. The IDF responded with mortars. There were no injuries on the Israeli side.

Last week, terrorists launched a rocket from the Gaza Strip. It was intercepted by the Iron Dome. The IDF responded against Hamas terrorist targets then too.

The rise in attacks coincides with the expiration next month of monthly cash payment transfers from Qatar. The Lebanon paper Al Ahbar noted that Hamas members said that one of the reasons for the renewed arson attacks was the fact that the money from Qatar was stopping. The Hamas officials said the calm had come to an end and Israel should expect an escalation.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller terror group in the Strip, also threatened Israel on Sunday. It said Israel “will bear the consequences of anything that happens to the residents or farmers [of Gaza] as a result of the escalation.”

According to Ynet, Islamic Jihad called the incident “the continuation of Israeli terror” that will lead to a “Palestinian response.” 

Gaza terrorists have launched incendiary devices on and off since March 2018, when Hamas announced its weekly “March of Return,” which includes thousands rioting at the border.

JNS contributed to this report. 

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The steering committee responsible for the riots says it will cut back on them to once a month.

By World Israel News Staff

The “March of Return,” the euphemistic name given by the Hamas terrorist group to the weekly riots it organizes each Friday on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip since March 30, 2018, will be cut back to once a month.

“The Return March Steering Committee announced at a press conference in Gaza that, starting in 2020, the marches will take the form of one demonstration a month instead of one demonstration a week,” Ynet reported.

The committee also said that riots will be held on days marking special events, such as Land Day, or the Nakba, (“disaster” in Arabic) – the term given by Palestinians for Israel’s victory in the War of Independence, when it successfully fought off five invading Arab armies.

The decision will not be implemented immediately, and Israel can expect riots to take place as usual this Friday.

The new monthly protest “format” will go into effect on the two-year anniversary of the riots, March 30, 2020.

During the riots, the Palestinians typically hurl rocks at IDF soldiers and burn tires.

The rioters have also launched incendiary kites and balloons that have burned thousands of acres in Israel. The Israeli police announced on Thursday that they may soon have a solution to that problem in the form of a laser capable of knocking them down.

The riot committee includes representatives from all  factions in the Gaza Strip, Ynet reports, but takes its marching orders from Hamas, which rules the territory.

The paper says the move is a gesture by the terror group to show its “willingness to reach a meaningful series of understandings with Israel.”

Israel had asked for a reduction in the riots. It has also asked that Gaza terrorists cease firing rockets into Israel, the paper reports.

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The soldier was not punished with manslaughter because “necessary evidence was not found of criminal wrongdoing.”

By World Israel News Staff 

Amid mass Palestinian rioting which has taken place on Fridays along the Gazan border with Israel, an Israeli military court has handed down a 30-day sentence against an IDF soldier, in connection to the death of a Palestinian involved in the violence.

The punishment against the Israeli soldier is to be carried out through military work, a suspended prison term, and demotion to private, says the IDF.

The soldier “was convicted, based on his confession, in the framework of a plea bargain, for overstepping his authority, leading to threatening life or well-being,” said a military statement.

The soldier was not punished with manslaughter because, according to the Israeli military, “necessary evidence was not found of criminal wrongdoing, establishing direct cause between the soldier’s fire and the harm to the rioter.”

In giving context to the incident, the IDF says in its statement that in the court case it emerged that “on July 13, 2018, during a violent disturbance, the soldier fired at a Palestinian rioter who had climbed on the security fence across from the Gaza Strip.”

According to the Israeli military, the soldier had done so “without receiving the required authorization from his commanders and not in accordance with open-fire orders, and not in accordance with instructions which were relayed to him previously.”

This is said to be the first conviction of an IDF soldier in relation to the Hamas-encouraged protests which began after American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017, reached a peak in May 2018 when the U.S. Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, and has continued on Fridays following Muslim Sabbath prayers.

The Hamas violence was coined “The March of Return.”

Details about the soldier are barred by the military court from publication, says the IDF.

Hamas, recognized by the U.S. and other countries as a terrorist organization, has run the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it overthrew the Palestinian Authority, which was established in parts of Judea and Samaria, and in the Gaza Strip following talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in the 1990s.

The rioting continues to take place on a weekly basis, in addition to other periodic cross-border violence.

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Gazans have little to show for causing havoc on the border with Israel.

By World Israel News Staff and Associated Press

Ahmed Abu Artima was one of the initiators of the “Great March of Return,” the weekly riots along Gaza’s frontier with Israel, which were begun by independent activists but later taken over by Hamas, the violent terror group sworn to Israel’s destruction. But these days, he mostly avoids the demonstrations, according to the Associated Press.

He is among a growing number of Gazans who believe the protests have lost their way. With little to show from 18 months of demonstrations, many Gazans are beginning to question and even criticize the Hamas-led protests, a rarity in a territory where dissent is barely tolerated by the ruling Islamic terror group.

For several months now, Abu Artima has organized his own alternative protest. On a recent Wednesday, dozens of Palestinians gathered near the separation fence between Israel and Gaza, performing traditional dances and ballads between poem recitals and speeches by local community leaders. Children gathered around two camels decorated with embroidered saddles.

Abu Artima’s eyes sparkled as he watched. This is the kind of demonstration he envisioned when he and other young grassroots activists came up with the idea of building mass encampments along the fortified frontier. He calls it a protest that “tries to deliver our message as safely as possible.”

Held every two weeks, these events are in dramatic contrast to the main Friday protests.

Directed by a committee comprised of Hamas and other Gaza terror groups, the Friday demonstrations are held against a backdrop of black smoke from burning tires. Protesters hurl rocks at Israeli troops, who respond with clouds of tear gas and gunfire. Ambulances scream back and forth, ferrying the wounded to field clinics and hospitals.

When the protests began, Hamas quickly seized upon the popular idea and transformed the quiet gatherings into violent confrontations.

Under its direction, thousands of Palestinians have gathered at five sections of the fence each week, facing off against Israeli forces perched on earth mounds and in sniper positions. The Israeli troops fire live shots, rubber-covered steel pellets and tear gas, in what Israel says is a legitimate tactic to defend against attacks and border infiltrations.

Hamas officials have openly declared the intention of the riots is to breach the border fence.

Hamas’ human shields

The Gaza-based al-Mezan Center for Human Rights says 211 Palestinian protesters, most of them unarmed, have been shot dead during the demonstrations, including 46 under the age of 18. More than 18,000 have been wounded. The Health Ministry says 124 had amputations in lower limbs. One Israeli soldier has also been killed.

With Hamas dedicating this week’s protest to “child martyrs,” U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick urged both sides to protect children. “Boys and girls must never be targeted, put at risk or encouraged to participate in violence,” he said.

Hamas regularly uses human shields as cover for its terrorist activities. In June, 2018, the U.N. Security Council condemned the use of human shields, a position meant specifically for Hamas. “This decision is another important step in our activities to change the rules of the game at the U.N.,” Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said at the time.

Calling his event “The Return Journeys,” Abu Artima says he is focused on his original idea of highlighting the desire of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return to the lands they fled or were forced from during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s establishment. Some two-thirds of Gaza’s population are refugees.

“We want to present a model for the people that we can send our voice by art and national songs,” he said. “Our presence here even without direct confrontation is a message of determination.”

In Israel, the harmless sounding “right of return” is widely accepted on both sides of the political aisle as a euphemism for Israel’s destruction, entailing the return of millions of Arab “refugees” into the Jewish State. The numbers of refugees have been vastly inflated. A secret State Department report puts the actual number at closer to 20,000.

While the “right of return” was the original message of the demonstrations, Hamas quickly turned the focus to the 12-year-old blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic terror group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Hamas blames the blockade for devastating Gaza’s economy and causing the unemployment rate to skyrocket to over 50 percent, ignoring its own failure to use its resources to better the lives of its citizens rather than investing in terror infrastructure, such as tunnels and missiles with which to attack Israel.

Israel says the closure is needed to prevent Hamas from arming.

Hamas views the protests as a key form of leverage in getting the closures lifted, so it urges maximum participation. On days before protests, vehicles with loudspeakers mounted on their roofs tour Gaza streets and mosques urging families to head to the fence. On Friday, buses pick up participants from across the strip.

There have also been calls to storm the frontier. In May 2018, as the U.S. was opening its embassy in Jerusalem after relocating it from Tel Aviv, more than 55 Palestinians were killed in a single day as tens of thousands protested amid Hamas calls to cross into Israel. Nearly all of them were later identified as terrorists, a testament to the ability of Israel’s security forces to make targeted killings under the most trying circumstances.

To prevent what could have been a fourth war in a decade between Hamas and Israel, mediators rushed to contain the protests. Under an unofficial Egyptian-brokered truce, Hamas scaled down the marches in recent months in return for Qatar-delivered cash infusions.

The Netanyahu administration has been criticized for allowing the payments to pass through. The Qatari cash, originally sent stuffed in suitcases, has been referred to as “protection money” by the Israeli prime minister’s political rivals, such as Israel Beiteinu’s Avigdor Liberman and Blue and White’s Benny Gantz.

On the Hamas side, critics include scores of people who were shot in the legs after Hamas assured them they would be safe. In Gaza’s inadequate medical system, such cases often end with amputations.

In a video circulated in August, a father scolded his wounded son at a hospital for going to the protests and accused doctors of not providing proper medical care for the teenage boy.

Hamas officials also came under fire after a press photo went viral showing rows of amputees at a Hamas event, each waiting for a $50 welfare payment.

Hamas attempted to portray the event as a celebration of solidarity, but critics said it was humiliating and accused the group of exploiting the wounded men for public relations purposes.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said his movement tries to provide allowances for each of those wounded.

“These are our capabilities, what shall we do? Shall we stop the protests?” he asked during a meeting with journalists earlier this month.

He said complaints of lack of proper care and discontent over the protests’ usefulness “carry a lot of exaggeration.”

One of those critics is Ziad al-Madani, a day laborer who barely scrapes together enough money to provide milk and diapers for his three children. Wounded by a live bullet last February, the 28-year-old ended up having his right leg amputated last month.

“This injury affected my life and now I’m unable to work,” he said, sitting with his children on a mattress, his leg still covered in bandages. “I did not get anything from these protests.”

Hussam al-Nadi, another young protester shot in the leg last spring, fears a similar fate. A metal ring known as a fixator stabilizes the bone in his right leg. Now, he joins the Wednesday activities organized by Abu Artima.

“This is a festival and a celebration and has no problems like the Friday protests,” he said.

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Netanyahu warned Gazan terrorists after rockets and an attack drone were launched into southern Israel on Friday and Saturday, causing no injuries or deaths.

By World Israel News and AP

After  Palestinian terrorists sent five rockets and an explosive-laden drone from Gaza into Israeli territory following a day of violent rioting along the border, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to the faction presumed responsible for the attacks.

“Hamas is responsible for all aggression emanating from the Gaza Strip. Any attempt to harm our citizens and our soldiers will be met with a forceful response,” Netanyahu declared in a statement on Saturday, according to Times of Israel.

There were no reports of injuries and no Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the rockets on Friday.

On Saturday, Palestinians sent an explosive device into Israel using a drone, which reportedly damaged an army vehicle. Following that attack, the IDF launched a counter-strikes on positions in Gaza.

In the past, the Hamas terror group and its sometime rival Islamic Jihad have taken credit for deadly rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. Both groups are funded and armed by Iran, using hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid from the Islamic Republic to continue their terror programs targeting Israelis.

Earlier in the day on Friday, Palestinians violently rioted along the border as part of a Hamas-orchestrated campaign targeting Israeli soldiers with sniper fire, explosives, and attempts to infiltrate Israeli territory to commit attacks within southern Israel.

Two Palestinian rioters were killed on Friday by IDF troops defending the border.

According to the Israeli military, more than 6,000 Palestinian rioters engaged in “especially violent” protests on Friday. The rioters threw “a large amount of explosive devices, grenades and firebombs” and damaged parts of the border fence.

Israeli forces also detained two armed Palestinians who crossed the border into Israel.

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The Israeli military launched a counter-strike after terrorists from Gaza used a drone to drop an explosive device in Israel near the security barrier.

By World Israel News and AP

On Saturday, the IDF launched an airstrike hitting Palestinian terrorists behind an earlier drone attack from the Gaza Strip.

There were no reports of injuries on the Palestinian side.

The Israeli military struck back after Palestinian terrorists sent a drone into Israeli territory, dropping an explosive device and damaging an army vehicle near the security barrier.

On Friday, Palestinian in Gaza staged violent riots near the border. Two Palestinian rioters were shot dead, after which terrorists in Gaza fired five projectiles into Israel.

In Samaria, meanwhile, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed an Israeli father and his son near the town of Qalqilya.

Israeli medical services said the 17-year-old son was in a serious condition. The military says it’s examining the incident.

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Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar praises “heroic” terrorist that wounded three IDF soldiers earlier this month, says “great national plan” of “marches of return” to begin this week.

By Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom via JNS

The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, said that during the next round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist organization would rain “hundreds of rockets” on the Jewish state.

Hamas claimed in June to have overwhelmed Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system with concentrated rocket salvos.

Sinwar’s remarks came during a meeting with residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday evening, where he discussed Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz’s statement last week that Israel’s next round of fighting with Hamas “would be the last.”

“I urge Benny Gantz to remember how the IDF failed when confronting the residents of eastern Gaza during [Operation] Protective Edge, when he was IDF chief of staff. In the next confrontation with Israel, we will rain hundreds of rockets on [Israel] in a single barrage,” said Sinwar.

Sinwar stressed that his organization did not want another round of fighting, but said, “Our heroic fighters and operatives in the military arm [of Hamas] are gathering strength, digging tunnels, and preserving their ability to fire hundreds of rockets at Israel.”

Sinwar also praised the Hamas terrorist who breached the border fence with Israel some two weeks ago and wounded three IDF soldiers, saying it was a “heroic act,” and called on young Palestinians in Gaza to “follow in the footsteps of the holy martyrs.”

He also told the Khan Younis residents that the Hamas leadership would discuss with all Gaza residents how to execute the “great national plan—the marches of return,” which, according to Sinwar, will begin once the Eid al-Adha holiday ends this week.

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The suspect, who the army says was armed with a knife and ammunition, was arrested and taken for questioning after attempting to cross into Israel from the southern Gaza Strip.

By JNS

Israeli troops on Monday arrested an armed Palestinian man attempting to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

“A short time ago, IDF soldiers arrested a suspect crossing the security fence into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip in the south,” the IDF said in a statement on social media. “The suspect was captured and found carrying a knife along with two bullets.”

The attempted breach marked the third time in a single week that Israeli forces have thwarted infiltration attempts from the coastal enclave.

On Saturday, four heavily armed men were killed attempting to enter Israel from southern Gaza.

Less than a day later, IDF shot and killed a terrorist who opened fire on troops near the fence.

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The IDF eliminated four terrorists armed with automatic rifles, hand grenades and rocket propelled grenade launchers.

By Associated Press

Israeli troops killed four Palestinian terrorists who attempted to cross through the security barrier from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, called it a “very significant attempt to attack Israel.”

The four terrorists were armed with automatic rifles, hand grenades and rocket propelled grenade launchers. Israeli soldiers opened fire when the terrorists tried to climb the fence. They returned fire before being killed. No Israelis soldiers were hurt.

Early in August, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist who opened fire at forces behind the fence. Three soldiers sustained light to moderate wounds

“We hold Hamas responsible and accountable for any acts of violence emanating from the Gaza Strip whether they were Hamas operatives or not,” Conricus said at a briefing with reporters.

No Palestinian groups claimed responsibility.

The Hamas terror group, in a statement denying its involvement, claimed that it was an “individual act by angry youths.”

Hamas has staged weekly violent riots along the boundary since March 2018, which have included snipers, arson attacks, and other attempts to harm Israeli civilians and soldiers.

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A fire that broke out in a forest near the Gaza border was caused by an incendiary balloon, the first confirmed attack of this type in a month.

By Gadi Golan, Israel Hayom via JNS

A fire that broke out on Wednesday in the Gaza-adjacent Simhoni forest was the result of an arson balloon flown over the Gaza border fence, an arson investigator from the Ashkelon Fire and Rescue Service determined on Wednesday.

The incident marked the first fire in the area to be caused by an arson balloon from Gaza in about a month.

Last month, Israel Defense Forces’ Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and head of the Southern Command Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi met with heads of local authorities near Gaza.

During the meeting, Kochavi said that the IDF was using every tool at its disposal to put a stop to arson terrorism from the Gaza Strip. He also briefed the local authority heads on the situation in Gaza and provided an overview of the terrorist organizations active there.

The meeting touched on common goals and discussed continued cooperation between the IDF and Gaza border communities.

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Gaza rioters raised a Nazi symbol together with a Palestinian flag during Friday riots on the border. 

By World Israel News Staff

Some 6,000 Palestinians rioted along the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, throwing molotov cocktails, grenades and pipe bombs, Israel media report.

During the riots, a Nazi symbol was raised on the border fence. The IDF noted the symbol and tweeted: “The Nazi Swastika flag A symbol of murder And sheer hatred  Raised yet again At a Hamas riot Inside Gaza.”

“In the face Of this hatred Stand IDF soldiers Alert and determined Ready to defend lsrael Today and every single day.”

According to the Palestinians, 50 rioters were hurt during the day.

Israeli located a balloon bomb on Friday that floated in from the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Lahav, located about 12 miles north of Beer Sheva in the Bnei Shimon region. The device was deactivated by a Israeli police sapper, Israel Hayom reports.

“I’m saddened that the settlements of Bnei Shimon are caught also in the line of fire in this routine and incessant war. We have national and local security forces, professional and strong, that afford us an envelope of meaningful protection,” said Nir Zamir, head of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council.

An IDF officer and two soldiers were wounded on Wednesday night after a terrorist from the Gaza Strip breached the security fence into Israel and fired at the forces. The troops responded by shooting and killing the terrorist.

Gaza riots began in March 2018 and have occurred on a near-weekly basis since.

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The Supreme Committee for the Marches of Return issued an ultimatum, demanding that Israel meet the Hamas terror group’s demands or there will be an attack on Israel this Friday.

By TPS

Israel has reportedly agreed to an Egyptian-mediated long-term ceasefire with Hamas, which includes the broadening of the fishing zones off the Gaza coast, the entry of goods and the transfer of Qatari funds into the Strip.

The various factions in Gaza are growing impatient and are demanding that Israel proceed immediately with the understandings, and not wait until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu establishes a government.

“If the occupation does not meet the understandings, we will reuse the entire arsenal of resistance,” threatened Talal Abu Zarifa, a committee member, underscoring that terror factions have not laid down their weapons.

Sources in Ramallah report that Israel has arrived at understandings with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terror groups, despite the fact that both sides are denying that such understandings exist.

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are now threatening to attacks on Israel if it does not finalize the agreement.

Officials in Gaza understand that the political reality in Israel may delay the finalization of the ceasefire.

However, Hamas has warned it will use the Eurovision song contest slated to be held in Tel Aviv next month as leverage after it worked to deescalate the situation in the Strip and scaled back the Hamas prisoners strike. If Israel does not move forward immediately, Hamas says it will not hesitate to attack Israel to defuse internal pressure in the Strip.

The Joint Operations Room, which is comprised of 11 Gazan terror groups, said last week that it is reviewing the possibility of renewing violence on the Gaza border.

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Notwithstanding ongoing Egyptian-brokered ceasefire talks with Israel, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar claimed his terror group was capable of forcing Israelis to flee Tel Aviv.

By World Israel News Staff

The Hamas terror group’s Gaza-based leader Yahya Sinwar claimed Saturday his forces would  inflict serious losses on Israel if Egypt’s current efforts to broker a ceasefire with the Jewish state fail and war breaks out.

“If the Gaza Strip is dragged into war, Israel will suffer. It will not only have to evacuate the communities around the Strip, but also Ashdod and Ashkelon and even Tel Aviv,” Sinwar commented to Gaza officials, reported Times of Israel.

Sinwar’s comments arrive as Egypt continues to try to coax the terror group into a truce with Israel.

While Sinwar just a day earlier claimed talks were progressing, he commented to Al-Aqsa TV on Saturday, “Our fingers are on the trigger and they will remain pressed against it in order to protect our people. We will be the sword and shield.”

For the past year, Hamas has orchestrated massive violent riots on Israel’s border with Gaza on a weekly basis, during which Gazans shoot at IDF troops, hurl Molotov cocktails, plant IEDs, attempt infiltration, and launch airborne incendiary devices into Israeli territory.

The “March of Return” riots have been accompanied by Hamas’ conventional tactic of rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, which have injured children and killed one Israeli during the past year.

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After a week of tension on Israel’s Gaza border with Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel may be forced to carry out an IDF operation and possibly recapture territory.

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While tens of thousands of Gazans rioted on Friday and Saturday at Hamas’ behest, Israeli security forces kept the situation from spiraling out of control.

By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff

Tens of thousands of Palestinians on Saturday rioted near the Israeli border to mark the first anniversary of weekly violent disturbances in the Gaza Strip, with Israeli troop weathering a steady rain of explosives and rocks hurled by rioters and staving off a number of infiltration attempts.

Egyptian mediators’ efforts to rein in Hamas also appeared to have paid off, with the Palestine violence failing to reach the “million man” fever pitch the terror group had threatened last week.

Israeli forces used conventional crowd dispersal tactics, with rainy weather also playing a role in the lower than expected turnout.

Saturday’s protest came at a sensitive time for both Israel and Hamas.

Israel has fought two wars and numerous smaller conflagrations with Hamas during the tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking his fourth consecutive term in April 9 elections, but is facing a serious challenge from a group of ex-army chiefs who have criticized his Gaza policy.

Currently, Hamas remains in control of the coastal enclave, keeping Gaza’s population under its thumb by publicly beating Palestinians who deign to criticize the Islamic terror group’s regime.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Netanyahu needs to keep the Israel-Gaza frontier quiet, without seeming to make concessions to Hamas. Netanyahu took heavy criticism this week for what was seen as a soft response to renewed rocket fire out of Gaza, which injured Israeli civilians in the center of the country.

Hamas, meanwhile, faces growing unrest in Gaza as a result of its severe mismanagement of resources, which it largely directs toward its terror campaign against Israel

Earlier this month, the group violently suppressed several days of public protests, staged under the slogan “We want to live,” over the dire conditions.

The Israeli military estimated 40,000 Palestinians were gathered at the marches, commenting, “The rioters are hurling rocks and setting tires on fire. In addition, a number of grenades and explosive devices have been hurled at the Gaza Strip security fence.”

Gaza health officials claimed three Palestinians were killed during this weekend’s riots.

A Gaza hospital worker, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said one of the young men who died was a known member of a group that burns tires, flashes laser lights and detonates explosives near the fence at night to distract soldiers and disturb residents of nearby Israeli communities.

Egypt has repeatedly tried to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, stepping up efforts in recent days after a Gaza rocket struck a house in central Israel earlier this week, injuring seven Israelis and threatening renewed escalation.

Palestinians with knowledge of the talks have said that as part of the proposed deal, Gaza protesters were to keep away from the fence Saturday and Israeli troops were to show restraint.

Under the Egyptian plan, Israel was to offer economic incentives for Gaza in exchange for calm, according to Palestinian officials.

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