Israel: Soldiers Wound 5 Palestinians in Gaza

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/world/middleeast/israel-troops-wound-5-palestinians-in-gaza.html

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Israeli soldiers patrolling the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday shot and wounded five Palestinians who were in an area on the Gaza side that Israel deems off limits, the Israeli Army and Gaza medics said. Gaza medical officials said the five agricultural workers suffered light to moderate wounds and were not in a life-threatening condition. An Israeli Army spokesman said that the men had approached an area close to the border fence and that soldiers “had acted according to set procedures” after the men did not heed calls to leave the area. Israel bars Gazans from approaching the fence because it fears that militants will attack border patrols or snipe at Israeli farmers working in fields that run close to the border. Israeli soldiers have shot at Gazans near the border at least 10 times since the end of an eight-day offensive last month. Some 30 people have been wounded in the episodes, Gaza officials said.