Israel Warns Gazans to Keep away from Border
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Israeli aircraft on early Monday dropped flyers over the Palestinian Gaza Strip, warning the residents there to stay away from the security fence that separates between the Jewish state and the Hamas-controlled Strip.
The leaflets spread over the skies of northern Gaza Strip and eastern Gaza city, as well as in southern Gaza Strip towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.
"It is forbidden for anyone to go beyond a distance of 300 meters from the fence and the Israeli defense forces will take necessary measures to turn him away, including shooting when it is necessary," one of the leaflets read.
An initial map was drawn in black and grey on a white paper that showed the border fence and the buffer zone which stretched between the two ends of the Gaza Strip.
Israel used to keep no-go areas along its borders with the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising in 2000. However, the space of the buffer zones used to change according to the security situation.
The last time Israel dropped aerial warnings on Gaza was during the major three-week military offensive between December 2008 and January 2009.
Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement are not observing a ceasefire these days but each side maintains a level of relative quietness.
(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2009)