A Hamas sniper shot and injured an Israeli soldier on Wednesday near the border with the Gaza Strip, sources on both sides said. "One soldier received a slight bullet wound when Palestinians opened fire on him while he was on a routine operation near the security barrier," an Israeli army spokesman said, according to AFP.
The shooting took place near the main Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the spokesman said.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Hamas rulers announced tough restrictions on journalists and briefly detained a cameraman Wednesday, widening a crackdown after a mass rally by Fatah movement ended in bloodshed earlier this week.
Hamas also said it planned to curb public gatherings.
In an edict published on its Web site Wednesday, Hamas said journalists who do not hold official press cards from the Hamas-run Interior Ministry would not be allowed to work in Gaza Strip. News organizations have resisted obtaining the cards because it entails submitting to restrictions, including a vague ban on stories that do not uphold "national responsibilities."
"The government will not allow any reporter or photographer to work unless they get the press card," Hamas said. "This decision came after the rally of the Fatah movement in which dozens of cameramen and photographers were observed, not working for any media organization, but using these cameras for political parties and for personal reasons."
