GAZA CITY, Palestine, March 31 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Four Palestinians were martyred and dozens injured by Israeli army fire during protests marking the Land Day in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the health ministry.
In a statement, the ministry said Bilal Mamud en-Neccar, Nidal Saqr, Jihad Saad and Tamr Hashim Abu Hayr lost their lives east of Gaza City, while another 316 demonstrators were injured — including 64 by live ammunition.
The ministry said 14 of the injured protesters were in a serious condition.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Palestinians staged mass rallies near Gaza-Israel buffer zone to mark the first anniversary of protests against the decades-long Israeli occupation.
The protests also commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the Land Day when six people were killed in 1976 during demonstrations against seizure of Arab land in Galilee.
In the run-up to Saturday’s rallies, the Israeli army has deployed numerous tanks and armored vehicles along the buffer zone with the Gaza Strip.
Nearly 270 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred by Israeli army gunfire since Palestinians began holding regular demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone in March of last year.
Demonstrators demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
International Support
In Turkey, members of the Friends of Palestine against Imperialism and Zionism gathered in front of Israel’s Consulate General in Istanbul and showed solidarity with Palestinians who fight for their land.
Recalling the U.S. decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, Naz Sakar, speaking for the group, said it would continue to be a major security threat for the region as long as Israel controls the area.
“Israel’s existence in the Golan Heights is both illegitimate and harms the people of the region,” she said, adding the decision was also against the international law.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.
It continues to occupy roughly two-thirds of the wider area as a de facto result of the conflict. It moved to formally annex the territory in 1981 — an action unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council, which called on Israel to rescind its decision.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
Demonstrations in many French cities, especially in capital Paris, also supported the Great Return March of Palestinians, upon the call from the Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS).
Demonstrators gathering in Jean Ferrat Square in Paris chanted against Israel while carrying placards which said “Free Palestine”, “Justice for Palestine,” and “No to Gaza-blockade.”
The crowd also urged Israel to immediately stop the massacre it applies to Palestinian people.
In the Netherlands’ capital Amsterdam, a group of people — including Muslims and the locals — held a demonstration to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Land Day and first anniversary of the Great Return March of Palestine.
The groups carried Palestinian flags and chanted slogans against Israel. They said in a speech that boycotting Israel and sanctions against it were seen as terrorism, while its criticizers were blamed as being anti-Semitist.
A group of Israel supporters provoked the demonstration by carrying Israeli flags, and one former Israeli soldier, who always attacked and disturbed peaceful protests against Israel in the Netherlands, caused tensions between two groups from time to time.
Police did not disperse the Israel supporters who demonstrated without permission.
Non-governmental organizations also marked the Land Day in German capital of Berlin with the attendance of around 250 people.
They carried placards, some of which said “One day we’ll be back” and “Freedom for Palestine.”
4 Gazans martyred by Israeli fire amid Land Day demos
An injured Palestinian is carried away during a protest within the “Great March of Return” and “Palestinian Land Day” demonstrations at Israel-Gaza border located near Al Bureij Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza on March 30, 2019. Photo courtesy Anadolu Agency
GAZA CITY, Palestine, March 31 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Thousands of Palestinians began to converge on the Gaza-Israel buffer zone to take part in mass rallies marking the first anniversary of anti-occupation protests.
The protests also commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the Land Day when six people were killed in 1976 during demonstrations against seizure of Arab land in Galilee.
Waving Palestinian flags, demonstrators chanted slogans for an end to the 12-year-long Israeli blockade on Gaza, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter in the area.
Meanwhile, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and an Egyptian security delegation visited a protest spot east of Gaza City.
The delegation is currently in Gaza as part of a shuttle diplomacy to reach a truce deal between Gaza-based resistance factions and Israel.
In the occupied West Bank, clashes erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces during rallies marking the Land Day.
Israeli forces used live ammunition, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse Palestinian protesters in the cities of Ramallah, Al-Bireh and Nablus, according to Anadolu Agency reporters in the area.
Several protesters were reportedly injured during the violence.
On Friday, Palestinian resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned Israel against attacking protesters during the planned demonstrations.
“Any Israeli assault on the marches will be met with an equal response,” the Islamic Jihad said following a meeting between group chief Jihad al-Nakhla and Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aarouri in Lebanese capital Beirut.
In the run-up to Saturday’s rallies, the Israeli army has deployed numerous tanks and armored vehicles along the buffer zone with the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly instructed the army to prepare for the possibility of a “broad” campaign in Gaza.
Nearly 270 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred by Israeli army gunfire since Palestinians began holding regular demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone in March of last year.
Demonstrators demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
