Israel is prepared for the publishing of a new “harsh” report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres later this week. The report severely criticizes Israel over violence on the Gaza border and singles out Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman for making what is described as “inflammatory” comments. Israeli and US diplomats have long been working to prevent publishing the report and reduce criticism against Israel, Israeli sources said. The report deals mainly with concerns over Gaza, particularly violence along the border over the past several months in which over 130 Palestinian protesters have been killed by Israeli fire. It warns that Gaza is on the brink of another war with Israel and slams Hamas for encouraging violent protests on the border fence. “Israel has a responsibility to exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire and to not use lethal force, except as a last resort against imminent threat of death or serious injury,” the report read. “It must protect its citizens, but it must do so with due respect of international humanitarian law.” “The killing of children, as well as of clearly identified journalists and medical staffers by security forces during a demonstration are particularly unacceptable,” the report added. Israel has said most of those killed were members of terror groups, many of whom were in the midst of carrying out attacks or attempting to breach or damage the fence. Hamas has acknowledged that dozens of the dead were its members. The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas of trying to carry out terror attacks under the cover of the protests. However, Guterres’s report is also said to express exasperation at Israeli comments attempting to justify Israel’s use of live fire and describing all protesters as members of Hamas. “Israeli officials also made provocative and inflammatory statements. In a radio interview, a senior Israeli minister …falsely asserted that all Palestinians [in Gaza] are affiliated with Hamas, and thus by extension legitimate targets,” the report further notes. “[This] signaled a permissive Israeli policy towards the use of live fire against protesters and contributed to the tragedy we have witnessed over the past 11 weeks.” Guterres also criticized Hamas, which he said has “inflamed and encouraged a highly volatile situation that contributed to violent actions at the fence and risked a serious escalation,” according to the report.