CAIRO

A prominent host on Israel’s Army Radio said he was “ashamed” to be an Israeli citizen after the killing of 18 Palestinians by Israeli gunfire near border with the Gaza Strip.  

“Today, I’m ashamed to be Israeli,” Kobi Meidan posted on his Facebook page, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Monday.  

At least 18 Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian rallies demanding the return of refugees near Gaza border on Friday.  

More than 1,500 Palestinians have also been injured by Israeli gunfire during the protests, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.  

The violent Israeli response to the Palestinian protests has triggered world outcry with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths along Gaza border.  

Angry with Meidan’s post, radio commander Shimon Elkabetz ordered the host’s dismissal and his program to be taken off air.

Friday’s rallies were the start of a six-week protest that culminates on May 15, the day the Palestinians call as “Nakba”, or “Catastrophe”, when Israel was created.  

The demonstrators are demanding that Palestinian refugees be allowed the right of return to towns and villages which their families fled from, or were driven out of, when the state of Israel was created in 1948.