Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon penned a letter Thursday to the United Nations Security Council and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warning them regarding plans by Hamas to launch a massive confrontation with Israeli forces on the Israel-Gaza border.
Funded by the Hamas terror organization which rules the Gaza Strip, protesters have planned six weeks of mass protests and confrontations with IDF forces along the Israel-Gaza frontier.
Beginning this Friday, the protests are set to culminate in a final demonstration on May 15th, a day after Israel’s 70th Independence Day, when the US is scheduled to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.
Israeli security officials have warned that plans by protesters to scale the border fence and cross into Israel en masse could force IDF forces to respond with force.
"We won't allow mass infiltration into Israel and damaging the fence, and certainly not allow anyone to reach our communities," Eizenkot told the Hebrew Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
"The instructions are to use a lot of force," he said.
"We've deployed more than 100 snipers who have been drafted from all the army's units, mainly from the special units. In the event of mortal danger, there is authorization to open fire."
On Thursday, Ambassador Danon penned a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the UN Security Council regarding the perils of the planned demonstrations.
“I write to inform you of a dangerous effort by Palestinian leaders to create conflict by orchestrating a series of mass confrontations, specifically on the security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, to occur between March 30 and May 15,” wrote Danon.
“While the Palestinians are attempting to present these demonstrations as acts of ‘peaceful resistance,’ Hamas has invested approximately 10 million USD into this confrontation campaign and will pay Gazans to participate.”
Danon added that “Hamas’ provocative actions to ignite violence serve only to distract the world from the terror organization's disastrous hegemony that has resulted in a deteriorating situation in Gaza… Simultaneously, the Palestinian Authority continues to suspend payments for electricity and salaries in Gaza and has threatened additional sanctions. Israel, on the other hand, continues to provide electrical power, water and the entry of goods into Gaza in coordination with international parties, and accommodates Gazans seeking to enter Israel for medical treatment.”
“In light of the Palestinians’ organized planned provocation for the coming weeks, I reiterate Israel’s right to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens… Israel condemns the Palestinian leadership’s dangerous attempt to inflame tensions and instigate violence and expects all United Nations personnel to refrain from planning, supporting or participating in these activities,” Danon concluded.