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| Protest at Gaza Fence Is Mostly Peaceful as Both Sides Urge Restraint | Protest at Gaza Fence Is Mostly Peaceful as Both Sides Urge Restraint |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| NAHAL OZ, Israel — Tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to the borderland between Gaza and Israel on Saturday for a largely peaceful protest marking the first anniversary of demonstrations that have frequently led to violent clashes with Israeli troops. | NAHAL OZ, Israel — Tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to the borderland between Gaza and Israel on Saturday for a largely peaceful protest marking the first anniversary of demonstrations that have frequently led to violent clashes with Israeli troops. |
| Despite efforts by both sides to minimize casualties, hundreds of protesters rushed the fence, some hurling homemade bombs, and three were killed. | |
| After a round of violence on Monday that began when a rocket fired from Gaza wounded several Israelis north of Tel Aviv and ended after Israel spent a day pounding targets in Gaza, neither side was eager for a new war, least of all Israel, which is 10 days away from elections. | |
| Egyptian intermediaries worked with both sides to keep the situation from boiling over, and Hamas, the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza, deployed scores of people in orange vests to keep most demonstrators at least 300 yards from the fence, the distance Israel had demanded as a buffer. | |
| The Israeli military had prepared for an escalation this weekend, moving tanks, artillery and four brigades of soldiers to the Gaza border, but they mostly held their fire. | |
| There was some suggestion that Israel might offer concessions in exchange for a peaceful protest. Hamas officials said vaguely that Gazans would soon reap benefits. On Saturday morning, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman said on social media that peaceful protests would be rewarded. | |
| The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no mention of any deal but issued a statement thanking the military for “the aggressive activity and massive preparations that helped bring about calm.” | The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no mention of any deal but issued a statement thanking the military for “the aggressive activity and massive preparations that helped bring about calm.” |
| While neither side offered specifics, it appeared that their efforts were having some success in curtailing violence. | While neither side offered specifics, it appeared that their efforts were having some success in curtailing violence. |
| There were skirmishes at the fence, parts of which Israel had fortified in advance of Saturday’s anniversary with steel plates topped by tall, heavy wire-mesh fencing, and bunkers built atop large earthen berms, where hundreds of snipers were positioned. | There were skirmishes at the fence, parts of which Israel had fortified in advance of Saturday’s anniversary with steel plates topped by tall, heavy wire-mesh fencing, and bunkers built atop large earthen berms, where hundreds of snipers were positioned. |
| Tear gas canisters arced across from Israeli jeeps, and dozens of homemade bombs were thrown from the Gaza side. But the violence was nothing like it has been at times in the year since the start of the protests, dubbed the Great March of Return. | Tear gas canisters arced across from Israeli jeeps, and dozens of homemade bombs were thrown from the Gaza side. But the violence was nothing like it has been at times in the year since the start of the protests, dubbed the Great March of Return. |
| The Israeli military, while welcoming the reduced violence, took the de-escalation as proof of its assertions that the tone of the protests was entirely dictated by Hamas. | The Israeli military, while welcoming the reduced violence, took the de-escalation as proof of its assertions that the tone of the protests was entirely dictated by Hamas. |
| “It’s clear that Hamas controls the level of violence,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman. “When they want less violence, we see that they can keep people back from the fence. And when they want more violence, they get more violence.” | “It’s clear that Hamas controls the level of violence,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman. “When they want less violence, we see that they can keep people back from the fence. And when they want more violence, they get more violence.” |
| The yearlong protest has had several objectives. It was aimed above all at ending the years-old Israeli-led blockade of Gaza, which has restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory and blockaded its access to the Mediterranean. The protest also focused on Palestinians’ demands to return to their ancestral lands in what is now Israel. But it has mainly served to draw international attention to the Israel-Palestinian conflict at a time when that has been hard to come by. | The yearlong protest has had several objectives. It was aimed above all at ending the years-old Israeli-led blockade of Gaza, which has restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory and blockaded its access to the Mediterranean. The protest also focused on Palestinians’ demands to return to their ancestral lands in what is now Israel. But it has mainly served to draw international attention to the Israel-Palestinian conflict at a time when that has been hard to come by. |
| Israel made a point before Saturday of cautioning its soldiers against taking shots that might hit unintended targets, the kind that Israeli officials acknowledged had killed a Palestinian medic, Rouzan al-Najjar, last June, one of some 196 people killed in the protests. | Israel made a point before Saturday of cautioning its soldiers against taking shots that might hit unintended targets, the kind that Israeli officials acknowledged had killed a Palestinian medic, Rouzan al-Najjar, last June, one of some 196 people killed in the protests. |
| In addition, the military said it was experimenting with new forms of nonlethal crowd control, including a device that essentially fires a rifle-shot of sound at a target. | In addition, the military said it was experimenting with new forms of nonlethal crowd control, including a device that essentially fires a rifle-shot of sound at a target. |
| But soldiers did use live ammunition on Saturday. The Gaza Health Ministry reported three fatalities and more than 200 people injured, including 46 by gunshots. | |
| At the largest protest site, east of Gaza City, where nearly 10,000 people had gathered by early afternoon, participants lit campfires and brewed tea, a band played and a troupe danced the debka, a traditional Palestinian dance. | At the largest protest site, east of Gaza City, where nearly 10,000 people had gathered by early afternoon, participants lit campfires and brewed tea, a band played and a troupe danced the debka, a traditional Palestinian dance. |
| There were early signs this would be a relatively tame day, including a noticeably large presence of Hamas security and intelligence officers, and the placement of vast public tents some 700 yards from the fence, more than twice the distance from the barrier as on previous protest days. | There were early signs this would be a relatively tame day, including a noticeably large presence of Hamas security and intelligence officers, and the placement of vast public tents some 700 yards from the fence, more than twice the distance from the barrier as on previous protest days. |
| Vague promises of Israeli concessions were not enough for everyone, however. | Vague promises of Israeli concessions were not enough for everyone, however. |
| “We don’t want the blockade lifted partially,” said Umm Wael, 45, a teacher. “We want it lifted completely. Lift the blockade or martyrdom.” | “We don’t want the blockade lifted partially,” said Umm Wael, 45, a teacher. “We want it lifted completely. Lift the blockade or martyrdom.” |
| And Muhammad al-Serhi, 34, who has a part-time job at a dessert shop and said he came to the protests to escape the “suffocation” he feels at home, said he was in the dark about what was happening. | And Muhammad al-Serhi, 34, who has a part-time job at a dessert shop and said he came to the protests to escape the “suffocation” he feels at home, said he was in the dark about what was happening. |
| “We only hear that there are solutions,” he said. “I will believe that there are solutions when the borders are open, when there are job opportunities.” | “We only hear that there are solutions,” he said. “I will believe that there are solutions when the borders are open, when there are job opportunities.” |