Palestinian woman shot dead by Israeli army during Gaza protests
Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian woman on Friday and injured at least 25 others, including a journalist and a paramedic, during the Great March of Return protests in eastern of Gaza Strip near the border fence with Israel.
Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP the woman, who was not identified, was shot in the head east of Gaza City. Israeli forces used live fire and rubber coated steel bullets as they fired on protesters near the fence.
The Gaza ministry later identified the slain woman as 43-years-old Amal Mustafa Abu Sultan al-Tramsi.
In the West Bank, one Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron city, according to the al-Quds website.
Palestinians protested in Gaza as part of the ongoing mass demonstration that began on 30 March last year and is now in its 42nd consecutive week. More than 190 Palestinian have been killed in the protests.
The Israeli army did not issue a statement at the time of publication.
An estimated 12,000 people participated in Friday's protest under the slogan "Our steadfastness will break the siege". The Gaza Strip has been under an air, land and naval siege imposed by Israel and Egypt since 2007.
In a statement, the Higher National Committee of the Marches, the body that organise the protests, called on people to demonstrate near the boundary fence with Israel to call for an end to the siege, condemning the yet-to-be-announced "deal of the century," and demanding the right of return to their lands in Israel.
Eyewitnesses told Al-Araby newspaper that a European delegation was present during the protests to observe and make a report.
An Egyptian security delegation arrived in Gaza on Thursday to press Palestinian national factions to pause the demonstrations, reports said.
The Egyptian delegation came for talks with the ruling Hamas movement in Gaza about the opening of the Rafah crossing, after the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority pulled its staff from the border terminal last week. It blamed Hamas for the withdrawal.
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