Israel halts entry of fuel, gas into blockaded Gaza

Israel halted the entry of fuel and gas into the blockaded Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to Israeli media reports and Palestinian officials.

In a statement released Wednesday night, the Palestinian Authority said Israel planned to halt the entry of fuel and gas into Gaza -- via the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing -- starting Thursday.

According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman took the decision in ostensible retaliation for ongoing incendiary balloon attacks by Palestinian activists in Gaza.

In recent weeks, activists have been flying flaming kites and balloons over Israeli territory as part of ongoing rallies along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.

According to Israeli officials, the improvised aerial weapons have caused a number of fires inside Israel, causing significant material damage but not resulting in any deaths or injuries.

Since the Gaza rallies began on Mar. 30, 155 Palestinian protesters have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.

Protesters demand the "right of return" to their homes and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israel's 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave's economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of basic commodities.