TEL AVIV—Israel's army opened fire on dozens of Arab demonstrators who marched from Syrian border toward Israeli-controlled Golan Heights to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Syria's state-run news agency reported that four demonstrators were killed and over 30 were injured.
Inspired by popular domestic demonstrations around the Arab world, pro-Palestinian protestors in Syria and Lebanon are now challenging Israeli forces posted on the border. The violence marks the second flare-up in 15 days on a frontier that has remained relatively quiet for more than three decades despite frequent political tension.
According to the Israel army, protesters gathered in the morning at a hilltop on the Syrian side of the border within walking distance of the Golan Heights village of Majdal Shams. When the demonstrators began to march toward the border, soldiers tried to ward them off with verbal warnings and by firing into the air, said the spokesperson. Ignoring the calls, dozens of demonstrators then crossed the Syrian border and continued toward the Israeli line through the United Nations-monitored demilitarized zone.
"IDF forces were left with no choice but to open fire," said an army spokeswoman, who accused the Syrian government of permitting a border "provocation" in order to distract attention from the weeks-long revolt against the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called the border demonstrations a threat to Israeli towns and cities, and said that soldiers had orders to act with "resolve" to prevent a repeat of two weeks ago, when dozens of protesters defied Israeli soldiers and reached the Golan Heights for several hours before returning to Syria.
Sunday's demonstrations were inspired by the anniversary of the Six-Day War, when Israeli forces opened a preemptive assault on Egypt, Jordan and Syria, capturing the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula and the West Bank. Two weeks ago, the demonstrators marked the anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were also planned at the Lebanese border Sunday, but organizers decided to postpone the protests after the Lebanese army declared the border a closed military zone. Two weeks ago several Palestinian demonstrators were killed on the Israel-Lebanon border.
In the West Bank, soldiers fired tear gas to subdue demonstrators who threw stones at the Qalandiya military checkpoint at the northern tip of Jerusalem.
—A reporter in Damascus, Syria contributed to this article.
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