04 April 2018•Update: 04 April 2018
JERUSALEM
Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel on Wednesday met with the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, Nadav Argaman, in Tel Aviv, Israeli media has reported.
According to Israeli radio, Argaman told Kamel to warn the Gaza-based Hamas movement against “violating” Gaza’s border with Israel amid ongoing Palestinian protests in the coastal enclave.
“The army will not tolerate any attempt to approach or damage the [border] fence,” Argaman was quoted as saying.
Egypt has yet to issue any official statements regarding Wednesday’s meeting in Tel Aviv.
On Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received Kamel in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the latter delivered a private letter to Abbas from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The visits come amid ongoing protests along the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel, where Palestinians are demanding the right to return their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.
Since the demonstrations began in earnest last Friday, at least 17 Palestinians have been killed near the border by Israeli army gunfire.
In the run-up to the protests last week, Israel deployed thousands of troops along the border, vowing to use deadly force against anyone who threatened Israel’s “security infrastructure”.
Friday’s rallies kicked off a six-week protest that will culminate on May 15, which will mark the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment -- an event Palestinians refer to as the “Nakba” or “Catastrophe”.
