“They have prepared a net for my steps, my soul is bowed down; they have digged a pit before me, they are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. Selah” (Psalms 57:7)

IDF forces opened fire Saturday on a group of Palestinians gathering along the border fence between the Gaza strip and Israel.  The incident took place near Khan Younis, a city in the southern region of the Gaza strip.  According to IDF sources, the young men were attempting to place explosives along the fence.

Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the emergency services in Gaza, said a 22-year-old man was injured by Israeli fire.  Palestinian witnesses claim he and his friends were fired upon while they were hunting birds near the security fence.  The IDF, however, explained in a statement, “This morning, terrorists attempted to conceal an explosive device in order to attack IDF soldiers who operate in the proximity of the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip.”  They were fired upon after they ignored both verbal requests and warning shots.  The injured man was hit in the lower extremities.

This incident is only the latest in a series of clashes along the Gaza border this past week.  On Friday, emergency services and the news agency of the Hamas government reported a Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire in northern Gaza near the border with Israel.

Palestinians also reported that three people were injured from IDF fire after approaching the border, near the Jabaliya refugee camp, in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.  According to the IDF, the three were seen attempting to damage the fence.  Like Saturday’s incident, IDF forces tried to repel the three, only firing on and wounding them when they refused to leave the area.

Besides Friday’s deadly encounter, two other Palestinians were killed in altercations the same week.  On Wednesday, Nafa Jamil Saadi, a 22-year-old Hamas activist, was killed after Israeli security force, with the Border Guard’s counter-terrorism unit, entered the Jenin refugee camp dressed as technicians to arrest an Islamic Jihad operative.  Palestinians reported seven others injured in the ensuing clashes. Previously, Palestinian sources reported, Majd Lahlouh was killed after he was shot in the chest during clashes with Israeli soldiers.  They claim two other residents were also injured.