On 30 March, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian protesters at the border of the Gaza strip, killing at least 18 and wounding hundreds more. It was the highest death toll since the last Gaza war in 2014, and has strained the fragile ceasefire between the Islamists of Hamas, who control the strip, and Binyamin Netanyahu’s hard-line administration.
The incident is another black mark on the record of Mr Netanyahu, whose government has consistently drifted rightwards and is now pandering to the ultra-nationalist and conservative elements of his base.
The situation in Gaza is a tragedy and a humanitarian catastrophe. The UN and EU have rightly called for an independent investigation into the latest events, with which Israel should co-operate fully.