Israel Strikes Launchers of Burning Kites From Gaza Strip
Israeli military jets fired on a vehicle early Sunday belonging to someone who sent burning kites flying into Israel from Gaza.
The Israeli military said no one was injured in the strike.
The incident is an escalation in Israel's response to the phenomenon that has wreaked havoc on agriculture in southern Israel in recent weeks. Burning kites set fields ablaze in more than a dozen locations Saturday.
Gazans began flying kites with burning rags attached to them during the mass protests against the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory.
Israeli troops have fired on the protesters in self-defense since the weekly demonstrations began in March. The Israeli military says militants have used the protests as cover to carry out attacks and to try to breach the border fence.
The protests have been led by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza. Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for the fires.
While Israel has been mostly successful in thwarting militant attempts to breach the border and defend against rocket fire, it has struggled to stop the airborne kites drifting into its territory.
A parliamentary committee last week said the fires have destroyed more than 6,000 acres of land in recent weeks, causing some $2 million in damages. Israel says it plans to deduct from tax funds it collects for the Palestinians to compensate farmers.
The military says its drones have been able to shoot down more than 90 percent of the kites and flaming balloons, and it will continue to target them.
Cabinet Minister Naftali Bennett compared the kites to rockets and said the response should be the same.
"We should not wait until Israeli citizens are hurt and only then wake up," he said.
In the West Bank, meanwhile, Israeli police evicted Jewish settlers from 10 homes they had built in violation of Israeli law.
Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem in the 1967 war and today about 600,000 settlers live in those areas.
Israel's Supreme Court often has ruled that structures built illegally have to be evacuated and demolished. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 11 officers were wounded in scuffles and that police arrested six protesters for violence.
