By Abdel-Rauf Arnaout

JERUSALEM

Israeli army forces rounded up four Palestinians near border of the blockaded Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the Israeli military.

A military statement said the four were arrested as they “attempted to break through the security fence from Gaza into Israel”.

According to the statement, a knife and an ax were seized from the four Palestinians.

The arrests come amid weekly Palestinian protests along Gaza-Israel border against the decades-long Israeli occupation and an 11-year blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its more than million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

More than 170 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army troops since the protests began in late March.