A Hamas official admitted in an interview that 50 of some 62 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli security forces along the Gaza border were members of the Palestinian terrorist group.
“In the last rounds of confrontations, if 62 people were martyred, 50 of the martyrs were Hamas and 12 from the people. How can Hamas reap the fruits if it pays such an expensive price?” posed Hamas official Salah Bardawil in an interview with the Palestinian Baladna news outlet.
Hamas official, Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil is clear about terrorist involvement in the riots pic.twitter.com/p5My6JGQRr — IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) May 16, 2018
The revelation that many of the protesters killed along the Gaza border were members of Hamas confirms Israeli leaders’ accounts that the Palestinian terrorist group was using opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on Monday to score propaganda points.
“This proves what so many have tried to ignore: Hamas is behind these riots, and the branding of the riots as ‘peaceful protests’ could not be further from the truth,” stated Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.
Meanwhile, the IDF also reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza this week to carry some 53 tons of emergency medical aid into the coastal territory. The crossing had been previously damaged by riots and fire.
However, Hamas refused to allow two IDF trucks bearing hundreds of lifesaving medical equipment to enter Gaza. The Israeli medical equipment was intended to assist Gaza hospitals to cope with the situation.
