GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel will compensate farmers and townspeople bordering the Gaza Strip that sustained damage as a result of flaming kites sent over the Gaza border, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the head of Israel's National Security Council to withhold the money from funds intended for the Palestinian government. The June 3 announcement on Twitter sparked anger among Palestinians.

The Palestinian government described the move June 5 as piracy and burglary of Palestinian public funds. That statement affirmed that the Palestinian leadership will ask international institutions to not only respond to Israel’s piracy of the funds of the Palestinian people but to claim compensation for all they have suffered as a result of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In the course of the March of Return that kicked off March 30, some protesters have found a novel way to respond to the Israeli army's repression of the protests at the border, during which 123 Palestinians have been killed and 13,672 injured. Protesters are flying kites rigged with incendiary devices that fall on nearby agricultural fields and settlements, causing major fires.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman noted June 4 that 600 such kites have appeared since the start of the protests on March 30. The Israeli army intercepted some 400 while the remaining 200 kites fell on Israeli territory, burning 9,000 dunums of agricultural land. On the same day, the Israeli Finance Ministry announced it will compensate farmers for up to half of the losses they sustained from balloon and kite attacks.