Image copyright Reuters Image caption Avigdor Lieberman said Israel was doing "serious damage to national security in the long term"

Israel's defence minister has resigned over the cabinet's decision to accept a ceasefire ending two days of fighting with Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Avigdor Lieberman denounced the move as "surrendering to terror".

He said his right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party would leave the ruling coalition, which could lead to an early election.

Eight people were killed on Monday and Tuesday as militants fired 460 rockets towards Israel and Israeli forces bombed 160 targets in Gaza.

The ceasefire was largely holding on Wednesday and schools and businesses in southern Israel reopened after no rocket attacks were reported overnight.

However, Israel's military said it had shot at and captured a Palestinian man who tried to breach the Israel-Gaza border fence while hurling grenades.

Palestinian health officials later said a fisherman had been killed by Israeli fire in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said soldiers had shot the man because he was advancing towards the border fence.

What happened in the latest flare-up?

The fighting - the most intense since the 50-day war in 2014 - began after an Israeli special forces undercover operation in Gaza was exposed on Sunday, triggering clashes that left seven Palestinian militants and one Israeli soldier dead.

Late on Monday, militants launched a barrage of rockets and mortars at Israel.

Image copyright AFP Image caption A Palestinian man working in Israel was killed in a rocket attack on a southern Israeli town

One of the rockets hit a block of flats in the town of Ashkelon, killing a Palestinian man who was working in Israel.

In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out what it called a wide-scale attack against targets belonging to the militant groups Hamas, which dominates Gaza, and Islamic Jihad.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said seven people were killed in the strikes. Five of the dead were said to be militants and the other two farmers.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Israel targeted a building that housed Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV channel

Hamas and other Palestinian factions announced on Tuesday afternoon that they had accepted an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire and would abide by it if Israel did.

Israel's security cabinet initially said only that it was ordering the military to continue its operations as required, but Mr Lieberman and another minister appeared to confirm it had agreed to accept a ceasefire when they denied supporting it.

Why did Mr Lieberman resign?

At a news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the defence minister said the military response to the rocket fire had been "insufficient and inappropriate".

Image copyright AFP Image caption About 100 of the 460 rockets fired from Gaza were intercepted by Israel's air defence system

He added that the government was making a serious mistake by accepting a ceasefire with Hamas and other militant groups that Israel, the US, EU and UK have designated as terrorist organisations.

"We are buying quiet for the short term at the price of serious damage to national security in the long term" he warned.

Mr Lieberman revealed he had similarly opposed recent decisions to allow into Gaza fuel for the territory's power plant and $15m (£12m) in cash from Qatar intended to fund the salaries of unpaid civil servants in the Hamas-run government.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Sderot residents protested against the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday night

"I could not remain [in office] and still be able to look residents of the south in the eyes," he added.

Dozens of residents of Israeli border communities protested after the ceasefire announcement at what they called the "lack of action by the Israeli government" to deal with the threat of Palestinian rocket attacks.

Mr Lieberman also announced that Yisrael Beiteinu would leave the ruling coalition and called on other parties to agree on an early date for a general election, which is not due until November 2019.

How significant is the resignation?

By Yolande Knell, BBC News, Jerusalem

This announcement by Mr Lieberman was expected.

He has been calling for tough Israeli military action against Hamas and has opposed ongoing efforts by Egypt and the UN to secure a long-term ceasefire deal that would quieten the Israel-Gaza border.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism in Israel for accepting a ceasefire

His hawkish stance as defence minister has often left him at odds with the military top brass.

But it plays out well with the voter base of his political party.

The decision to withdraw Yisrael Beiteinu from the coalition government weakens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who now controls just 61 of 120 parliamentary seats.

However, an official close to Mr Netanyahu told the BBC it was "not necessary to go to elections in this sensitive security period". He added that the prime minister would now take over the defence ministry.

What has been the reaction?

Mr Netanyahu's office said he was holding consultations with ministers from his right-wing Likud party and other party leaders in effort to stabilise his coalition.

Earlier, the prime minister defended the ceasefire decision, saying that "in times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public can't always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy".

"Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they knew very well why," he added.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the centre-left Zionist Union alliance demanded an early general election.

"The government of failure in security must go," she said. "No peace, no security - elections now that will lead to an emergency coalition headed by the Zionist Union. We will restore security and act for peace."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Mr Lieberman's resignation was "recognition of the defeat before the growing force of Palestinian resistance". </s> IDF soldiers will continue to fire at Palestinians from Gaza who come too close to Israel’s border fence that separates the Strip from the southern part of the country, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Tuesday morning.



“Anyone who comes close to the fence will endanger their lives,” said Liberman during a visit to the southern border.





He dismissed international criticism of his live fire policy by the UN and European countries as he warned the thousands of Gaza participants in the "March of Return" not to try to cross into Israel by breaking through the border fence.The six-week event was launched last Friday with some 30,000 participants. IDF soldiers killed 17 of the protestors . The army has since said that those killed were among protesters close to the fence who were acting violently toward its soldiers. This included two armed Palestinian men with an en explosive device who, the army said, planned to execute a terror attack.Palestinians have, in turn, charged that those killed were unarmed protestors standing up for their right to return to land the Palestinians lost during the 1948 War of Independence.No Gaza inquiry, Israeli Defense Minister Liberman says, April 1, 2018 (Reuters)Liberman said he hoped the Palestinians now understood that this protest was pointless.“I think the other side [the Palestinians] understand that it is not worth it to continue and I warn those who do against any additional provocation,” Liberman said.“Most of those who were killed are well known terrorists who are active in Hamas’s military wing and in the Islamic Jihad,” said Liberman. “These are not innocent civilians who came to peacefully protest,” he added.“We are not provoking the people in Gaza. We are protecting our citizens,” he said.“We have set very clear rules [of engagement] and we have no intention of changing them,” Liberman said.“We are determined to protect the security of Israeli citizens, of course, first and foremost, in the area of Gaza, and there will be no compromise on this issue, no flexibility,” said Liberman.Gaza residents who want to see true change should invest their energies in regime change by working to remove Hamas from power, rather than in protests against Israel, said Liberman.Hamas leaders have invested $260 million in terror infrastructure in Gaza rather than in water, electricity or education for their people, charged Liberman.Israel is prepared to help Gaza rehabilitate itself economically if Hamas agrees to demilitarize the area, Liberman said.According to media reports, Hamas has asked the Arab League to turn to the International Criminal Court at The Hague with regard to the Gaza deaths.The Left-wing group B’Tselem said that Liberman’s decision to continue to order his soldiers to shoot at demonstrators was frightening and illegal.“An order to fire at unarmed demonstrators who pose no danger to anyone is a blatantly illegal,” B’Teslem said.“The fact that, after the events of Friday and the number of wounded and killed in the course of the attack, the defense minister repeats the same orders is frightening. The government of Israel and the army must change the orders and make it clear that it is forbidden to fire on demonstrators."Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Israeli soldiers were not merely using excessive force, but were apparently acting on orders that all but ensured a bloody military response to the Palestinian demonstrations.”“The result was foreseeable deaths and injuries of demonstrators on the other side of a border who posed no imminent threat to life," Goldstein said.These kinds of actions “highlight the importance of the International Criminal Court prosecutor opening a formal investigation into serious international crimes in Palestine,” HRW said.Among the stories of the dead that Palestinians have promoted on social media is that of artist Mohammad Abu Umr, whose work included sand sculptures on the Gaza beach.Israel has listed him as one of the ten known terrorists who were killed, and Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office tweeted a photo of him in fatigues with a gun and a headband. </s> Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday he had asked the attorney general to investigate the leaders of a left-wing group that called on Israeli soldiers to refuse orders to open fire at Palestinian protesters during clashes on the border with the Gaza Strip.

The organization, B’Tselem, lashed out in response, saying Liberman himself was guilty of incitement by demanding that soldiers carry out a manifestly illegal order.

In a tweet Sunday, Liberman said he had asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to “probe the heads of B’Tselem for incitement to disobedience after their call for soldiers to refuse orders in defending the border.”

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He was referring to advertisements that B’Tselem took out in Hebrew-language newspapers Thursday in which the group urged Israel Defense Forces soldiers to refuse to fire their weapons at unarmed protesters during demonstrations planned by the Palestinian terror group Hamas at the Gaza border for the next day.

“This subversive and marginal organization, together with haters of Israel and the international media, are trying to delegitimize our soldiers, whose behavior is both legal and moral in an extremely complex situation,” Liberman continued. “We will put an end to this.”

In response to Liberman’s comments, B’Tselem issued a statement reiterating its call for soldiers to refuse what it called “manifestly illegal orders” to use lethal force against demonstrators who didn’t pose a threat to lives. The group slammed the minister for a Sunday radio interview in which he said all of the protesters were being “paid by Hamas” and acting on behalf of the terror group.

“Liberman’s dangerous comments this morning, as though ‘there were no civilians there’ and that all those taking part in the demonstrations in Gaza are Hamas members whom it is legitimate to shoot and kill, demonstrates a deep contempt for basic moral principles,” B’Tselem said.

The organization noted that Article 110 of Israel’s penal code, which it said Liberman was relying on, only outlaws urging soldiers to refuse a legal order — while shooting at unarmed Gazans, the group said, was a manifestly illegal order.

“Therefore, the minister’s request is baseless. The defense minister is the one inciting to break the law, and it is good that the attorney general has an opportunity to make that clear.”

Last week, B’Tselem said it was aiming to inform soldiers that they are legally obligated to refuse orders to shoot unarmed Palestinian protesters, saying such orders are “manifestly illegal.”

Israeli military law requires soldiers to disobey “manifestly illegal” commands, meaning illegal orders that could result in loss of life. In the case of illegal orders that do not threaten a life, soldiers are required to carry them out and then report them to higher echelons in the military.

“B’Tselem warned of the expected outcome of this policy and now, ahead of the expected demonstrations this Friday, it is again clarifying that shooting unarmed demonstrators is illegal and that orders to shoot in this manner are manifestly illegal,” the group wrote in its Hebrew advertisements.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered along the Gaza border on Friday, burning tires and throwing firebombs and rocks at Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas and live fire, the army and witnesses said, as Palestinians held a second “March of Return” protest. Nine Gazans were killed and over 1,000 wounded in the day’s clashes.

The IDF said it thwarted multiple efforts to breach the border fence — and that it used live fire to do so in some instances — as well as attempts to activate bombs against the troops under the cover of smoke from the protests.

Beyond the public rhetoric between B’Tselem and some politicians, there is a substantive disagreement between the army and several left-wing groups who have criticized the Palestinian deaths during the border clashes.

A spokesperson for B’Tselem has explained that the group considers anyone not carrying a firearm or explosive device to be “unarmed,” even if they are throwing firebombs or rocks over the border fence, since these are less likely to cause lethal harm to soldiers on the Israeli side.

The IDF, in keeping with many international legal sources, maintains that firebombs and rocks pose a sufficient and credible threat to soldiers to warrant the use of live fire.

The army also maintains that attempts to sabotage and break through the security fence separating Gaza and Israeli usually justify the use of gunfire as such actions could lead to a mass infiltration of Israeli territory, including by terror groups, something the IDF is required to prevent.

Friday’s demonstration was the second of what Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror group said would be several weeks of “March of Return” protests which Hamas leaders say ultimately aim to see the removal of the border and the liberation of Palestine.

Israel has accused Hamas of trying to carry out border attacks under the cover of large protests and said it will prevent a breach of the fence at all costs.

An Islamist terror group, Hamas violently took control of Gaza from Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew its military and civilian presence from the Strip. Israel and Egypt maintain a security blockade of Gaza. Israel says this is vital to prevent Hamas — which has fought three rounds of conflict against Israel since seizing Gaza, firing thousands of rockets into Israel and digging dozens of attack tunnels under the border — from importing weaponry.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. </s> Israel's defence minister has said the military will not change its tough response to Hamas-led mass protests near Gaza's border with the country, warning those who approach will endanger their lives.

Avigdor Lieberman spoke near Gaza, where 18 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Friday, the first day of what Hamas said will be six weeks of intermittent border protests against a stifling blockade of the territory.

Mr Lieberman's comments raised the possibility of more bloodshed this Friday, when another large mass protest is expected.

Also on Tuesday, the international group Human Rights Watch accused Mr Lieberman and other senior Israeli officials of unlawfully calling for the use of live fire against Palestinian protesters who posed no imminent threat to life.

Last Friday, thousands of Palestinians marched near the border fence between Israel and Gaza, many gathering around tent encampments set up several hundred metres from the frontier.

Smaller groups moved closer to the fence, throwing stones, hurling firebombs or burning tyres. Israeli troops were lined up on the other side of the fence, including snipers perched on high earth embankments overlooking Gaza.

Palestinian health officials have said 18 Palestinians were killed that day, including 13 involved in the mass protest, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas.

More than 750 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, according to Gaza health officials.

The Israeli military has claimed, without elaborating, that it believes the figure was overblown and that dozens, at most, were injured by live rounds.

Israeli officials have said soldiers in the border area had orders to target the "main instigators" and those who approach the border.

Human Rights Watch said Israel has presented no evidence that rock-throwing or other violence seriously threatened the soldiers on the other side of the fence.

"The high number of deaths and injuries was the foreseeable consequence of granting soldiers leeway to use lethal force outside of life-threatening situations in violation of international norms, coupled with the longstanding culture of impunity within the Israeli army for serious abuses," the group said.

Mr Lieberman has rejected international calls for an independent investigation.

On Tuesday, he warned Hamas against what he called "continued provocation".

"We have established clear ground rules and we do not intend to change them," Mr Lieberman said during a visit to an Israeli communal farm near Gaza. "Anyone who approaches the border is putting his life in danger."

Israel's military spokesman, Brig Gen Ronen Manelis, has portrayed stone-throwing, tyre burning and other actions by protesters near the border fence as "acts of terror".

Briefing journalists on Monday, he did not say in what circumstances protesters were killed on Friday or why lethal force is justified if soldiers are not in apparent imminent danger. He argued that there would have been far more bloodshed in the event of a mass border breach.

In Gaza, protest organisers also prepared for the next confrontation.

Plans were circulated on social media to burn large numbers of tyres on Friday, in hopes that thick black smoke would block the view of Israeli snipers. Others suggested trying to disrupt the vision of soldiers with mirrors.

The planned protests seem to be the last hope for Hamas to try to break a border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2007, when the group seized Gaza from Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Two other blockade-busting strategies - war with Israel and reconciliation with Mr Abbas - have failed.

Hamas has said the border protests would continue until May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel's creation.

Palestinians mourn the date as the anniversary of their "catastrophe" when hundreds of thousands were uprooted from what is now Israel.

Two-thirds of Gaza's two million people are descendants of refugees. Life in Gaza has become increasingly harsh after more than a decade of closures, with residents enduring daily power outages lasting hours.

Hamas has said the protests would culminate in a March of Return, implying the demonstrators would at some point try to cross the border fence into Israeli territory.

However, Hamas officials have not specifically called for a mass breach of the fence. </s> Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has announced he is resigning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in protest against a truce in Gaza.

Addressing reporters in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Lieberman said he deemed Tuesday's Egyptian-mediated ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza "a capitulation to terror".

"Despite the difference in opinion, I tried to stay a faithful member of the government for as long as possible … but it has failed," Lieberman said.

He said he also fiercely objected to Israel's allowing Qatar to deliver $15m in aid to Gaza last week.

"From my point of view there are two critical points that made it impossible for me to carry on; the $15m that went into the Gaza Strip taken in suitcases from Qatar ... what would happen with the money after it has gone across the border," the minister said.

"It went to the families of the terrorists who fought on the border with Israeli soldiers throwing grenades. These families are the first who are going to receive part of this $15m - in other words we are ... giving terrorists money," Lieberman added.

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"The second point is regarding the ceasefire ... I understand all of the reasons and all of the information [behind the decision], but I would not be able to look in the eyes of the people who are within the range of Hamas, who are taken prisoner by Hamas. Hamas has to understand that nobody should go close to the frontier."

'Political victory'

In a reaction on Wednesday, Hamas called Lieberman's resignation a "political victory for Gaza".

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said it marked "recognition of defeat and failure to confront the Palestinian resistance", adding that "Gaza's steadfastness sent a political shockwave" through Israel.

The resignation, which comes into effect 48 hours after Lieberman puts it in writing, significantly weakens Netanyahu's coalition government and could bring about early elections.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu will take over as defence minister on an interim basis.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv, Akiva Eldar, senior columnist at Al-Monitor, said Lieberman's resignation did not come as a surprise.

"It was a matter of timing. The Israeli army, the chief of staff and the Shin Bet ... they all strongly supported the ceasefire and ending the closure on Gaza and allowing more goods in," Eldar said.

"[Lieberman] doesn't have partners in the military establishment ... they don't think that cracking down on Hamas will put Israel in a better position ... it will give Israel more problems in the international arena.



"Netanyahu just visited Oman, and we were playing in Abu Dhabi, so he [Netanyahu] is looking at the region and has to be careful not to cross certain red lines. Lieberman was a part of this ... so it is cheap politics," Eldar added. </s> Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday the crossing would reopen if the situation on the border was calm.

"Following the decision of the Minister of Defense, Mr. Avigdor Liberman, in consultation with the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, the main cargo crossing into Gaza, the Kerem Shalom crossing, will be re-opened this morning for full activity," the IDF said on Twitter.

The IDF added that "the designated fishing zone off the Gaza Strip will be expanded to nine nautical miles," or 10.3 miles.

The current wave of tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians near the Gaza border has been mounting since late March, which marked the beginning of the Palestinian protest campaign against Israel, dubbed the Great March of Return. Over 160 Palestinians were killed in clashes since that time.

Last Wednesday, Palestinians launched about 180 rockets and mortar shells from Gaza, injuring seven Israelis, while the IDF responded with over 150 airstrikes aimed at military targets in the Gaza Strip. </s> Days after the bloodshed along the border with Gaza, Israel's defense minister, Avigdor Liberman, has vowed a lethal response to those who approach the border fence again."Anyone who comes close to the fence will endanger their lives," Liberman said in a video message for the Jerusalem Post from Kibbutz Holit, close to the southern Gaza Strip. Liberman emphasized that all protestors would face Israeli snipers.The warning came just hours after a Palestinian man, Ahmad Arafeh, fell victim to Israeli gunfire along the Gaza border, bringing the death toll to 18 since Friday when around 30,000 Palestinians started rallying. A six-week campaign called 'The Great Return March' is a protest against Israeli settlements on the former Palestinian territory which is now Israel.The bloodshed elicited international concern and condemnation. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, and human rights group Amnesty International called for an "independent and transparent investigation."However,The minister said troops acted appropriately and fired only at Palestinian protestors who posed a threat. The IDF claimed all of the Palestinians who were shot dead at the border were Hamas fighters.Human Rights Watch defined such claims as attemptsPalestinians said the protestors were unarmed and defenseless refugees, as some of them were demanding the right to return home to the territory presently occupied by Israel, which was lost during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The territory was occupied by the State of Israel since the moment of its formation.Ahead of looming protests this Friday, Israel's Foreign Ministry released a video in which it warned Hamas was "preparing for violent riots and armed combat on the Israeli border this coming Friday."The video is in addition to a Foreign Ministry message that Palestinians "are violent rioters, not peaceful demonstrators."During his visit to the border of the Gaza Strip, the defense minister said that protestors were "not innocent civilians who came to protest." Liberman told the Jerusalem Post: "Most of those who were killed are well-known terrorists who are active in Hamas' military wing or in Islamic Jihad."Human Rights Watch deputy director for the Middle East, Eric Goldstein, said: "Israeli soldiers were not merely using excessive force, but were apparently acting on orders that all but ensured a bloody military response to the Palestinian demonstrations." The organization called on the Israeli government to recognize that "even in the absence of serious domestic oversight, officials who order unlawful lethal force may become subject to prosecution abroad as a matter of universal jurisdiction or in international judicial forums." </s> TIMES OF ISRAEL – Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman backs the IDF sniper seen in a video allegedly shooting a Gazan at the Israel-Gaza border, but slams the soldier who filmed the shooting.

“The sniper deserves a commendation, the photographer a court martial,” Liberman quips at an event he is attending in the Golan Heights town of Katzrin.

Speaking of the soldiers heard on the video shouting “yes!” when the Palestinian is hit, Liberman says: “The truth must be clear. The IDF is the most moral army in the world, but when you’re at the front and facing tense situations, sometimes you let out those tensions.” </s> Israel's military on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a video that shows soldiers celebrate after shooting a protester on the other side of the Gaza border.

A number of Israeli ministers, including defense chief Avigdor Lieberman, defended the soldiers in the video, while the military said the Palestinian had been shot in the leg and wounded. It was not clear whether the victim had died.

Read more: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman defends use of force against Gaza protests

The military also alleged that the incident took place last December following riots and warnings from troops. "During the riot, means were taken in order to disperse it, including verbal warnings and calls to halt, using riot dispersal means and firing warning shots into the air," the army said in a statement.

In the video, which surfaced on Monday, voices can be heard discussing whether to open fire at a Palestinian standing close to a fence. After the shooter opens fire, knocking the man to the ground, one of the voices says in Hebrew, "Wow. What a video! Yes! That son of a bitch."

The video's release comes at a highly sensitive time for Israel's military, which is under increasing international scrutiny for its use of live fire on the Gaza border. At least 31 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded following the outbreak of protests and clashes at the border since March 30.

Saeb Erekat, a top official with the Palestinian Authority, has described the shootings as "extrajudicial killings."

There have been no critical Israeli casualties.

After the authenticity of the video was confirmed, Lieberman told reporters that the sniper "deserves a medal" for shooting the Palestinian, but that the solider who recorded the incident should be demoted.

The military said the unauthorized filming and distribution of the material would be dealt with accordingly.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party also justified the shooter's behavior, telling army radio: "Judging soldiers because they are not expressing themselves elegantly while they are defending our borders is not serious."

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan downplayed the significance of the video, telling local media that the video "doesn't show gunfire at everyone, but at a terrorist who approaches the barrier in an unauthorized zone coming from an area controlled by Hamas terrorists."

On the Palestinian side, however, senior official Hanan Ashrawi said the video showed what Palestinians have long decried as Israeli soldiers' everyday behavior on the Gaza border, "but nobody has been listening."

For both sides of the conflict, the incident presented a stark reminder of a 2016 video filmed by a human rights group that showed an Israeli soldier shooting a prone Palestinian assailant in the head without any apparent provocation.

The Israeli soldier, Elor Azaria, was convicted of manslaughter but the case highlighted Israel's public divide between those who denounced the killing and those who believed it was justified.

Read more: What it means to be a soldier in Israel

Several right-wing Israeli politicians called for Azaria to be pardoned, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was eventually released after serving half of an 18-month prison sentence.

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Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman says the nation will maintain its tactics at the Gazan border of shooting anybody who approaches the fence, and calls on Hamas to cease hostilities in exchange for aid.