Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's party, Yisrael Beytenu, tweeted late Friday in response to Mladenov: "When will you tweet something against the Hamas terrorist organization that sends children to a dangerous border area? Israel takes all legal measures to protect its border, while encouraging a terrorist organization to harm us. You are a two-faced man in an unnecessary job."Liberman himself blamed the Hamas leadership in Gaza for the 15-year-old boy's death."The only ones guilty for the death of the 15-year-old boy are the leaders of Hamas. Those same cowardly leaders that hide behind women and children and send them forward as a human shield, so that they can continue to dig tunnels and carry out terror activities against the State of Israel," he wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning."I say once again to the citizens of Gaza - the medicine for a long life: don't approach the border fence."MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) tweeted his criticism of the killing on Friday, posting a graphic photo of the dead youth and the question: "The criminal sniper (but the most moral in the world) who murdered the 15-year-old boy Mohammad Ibrahim Ayyoub deserves a medal?"Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, reacted to the latest violent riots by Palestinians along the Gaza border fence, saying "Hamas is continuing to instigate violence against Israel as rioters today used firebombs and other means in attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate our sovereign territory. I call on all UN officials to condemn Hamas for encouraging violence, promoting instability and for the despicable act of exploiting women and children by placing them in harm’s way.”A statement released by the European Union called on Israel to retain proportionality in its responses to protestors. "As we once again mourn the loss of lives, the EU calls on the Israel Defense Forces to refrain from using lethal force against unarmed protesters. As stated repeatedly, the priority now must be to avoid any further escalation of violence and loss of life," the statement said.These events are part of the planned six-week "Great March of Return" protests and riots along the Gaza border that have resulted in the death of four more Gazans Friday, including Ayyoub, and hundreds more wounded.It is OUTRAGEOUS to shoot at children! How does the killing of a child in #Gaza today help #peace? It doesn’t! It fuels anger and breeds more killing. #Children must be protected from #violence, not exposed to it, not killed! This tragic incident must be investigated.
— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) April 20, 2018