Maariv newspaper said on Sunday that about 5000 dunums of farmland in the Israeli settlements neighboring the Gaza Strip have been burned by flaming kites launched from the coastal enclave.
Maariv said on its website that the flaming kites phenomenon has made the Israelis living in settlements near the border fence with Gaza worried all the time.
The Hebrew newspaper pointed out that dozens of kites made of nylon with flaming rags attached to their tails are launched from Gaza daily causing heavy economic damages to farmlands behind the border fence.
According to Israeli estimates the Palestinian flaming kites have burned 5000 dunums of land so far. About 600-800 dunums have been burned in Be’eri settlement alone.
The Palestinian youths have been using flaming kites since the launch of the Great March of Return as a new form of popular protest setting vast tracts of settler lands near the border on fire.
Palestinians in Gaza have been marching peacefully since 30th March along Gaza’s eastern borderline for their right of return. Dozens have been killed and thousands injured as a result of Israel’s use of lethal force against the unarmed protesters.
