Palestinian killed, Israeli guard injured near Jerusalem border
An Israeli security guard who was seriously injured in an incident near the border with the Gaza Strip suffered a gunshot wound to his chest, according to Palestinian reports.
Saber Ilaqat is a Palestinian rights activist and head of the Palestinian human rights organization, Al-Haq. He had gone to investigate reports that four Palestinians had been injured in an Israeli fire at the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, his news website reported.
One of the men was shot and was left in critical condition, while the other three were injured.
Ilaqat told Haaretz that a bullet pierced his heart and he died several hours later when medical personnel visited him at the hospital.
Ilaqat said: “These [people] are children, not terrorists. They are civilians. The guard was shot while trying to stop the fire from the Israeli army.”
When asked what would have happened if the guard had been a Palestinian, Ilaqat said: “If a Palestinian is in the line of fire, he will be hit. It is not easy, you have to deal with a situation like this in Gaza.”
According to him, Israeli forces will not accept civilians on the Gaza border with Israel, so anyone who enters Gaza is a civilian. All Palestinians entering the Gaza Strip have to pass through Israeli checkpoints, he says.
Ilaqat also told Haaretz he would not stop protesting if Israel continued to occupy the West Bank.
On Wednesday morning, Ilaqat was on his way to visit the scene of the shooting on his way to the border and was shot at two times, once in the chest and once in the foot.
He was later taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his wounds.
After the incident, Palestinian media reported on Thursday that a number of Palestinians in Rafah were injured by Israeli gunfire, including two who were seriously injured and one who was lightly injured (injuries received do not necessarily mean that they were as serious as they initially were reported to be).
Palestinian security forces are currently conducting a series of searches on the outskirts of Gaza after a rocket fired from the Strip struck the Erez border fence, causing the fence to explode.
According to a medical official, the three wounded are in moderate condition, while the two Palestinians in serious condition are currently receiving treatment in a hospital.