p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; color: #101010; -webkit-text-stroke: #101010; background-color: #96d35f}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; color: #101010; -webkit-text-stroke: #101010}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.s2 {font-kerning: none; background-color: #96d35f}
span.s3 {font-kerning: none; color: #347ab7; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #347ab7}
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians are participating in demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel border for the second week in a row, with at least seven protesters killed by Israeli army gunfire April 6, according to the latest statistics from Gaza’s Ministry of Health. This follows massive clashes March 30 that left 17 dead and over 1,000 wounded.
The "Great Return March" that took off March 30 on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip comes amid growing frustration at a decadelong border blockade on the coastal enclave. The protests have united the Palestinian factions on the ground and hope to offer a unified Arab stance pressing to alleviate the humanitarian crises in Gaza. The protests are planned to continue until May 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba — Arabic for “catastrophe” — when 750,000 Palestinian were forced from their homes when Israel was established in 1948.
The number of protesters is expected to rise as May 15 approaches, raising concerns among the Israeli authorities. Salah Abdel Atty, a member of the coordination committee for the march in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “The rallying for the Great Return March will continue and will culminate on May 15 marking Nakba Day. We are coordinating with the Palestinian diaspora to increase participation in the occupied territories and the diaspora.”
Atty said that the committee wants to achieve key strategic goals, noting, “The protests aim at mapping a new path for the Palestinian cause and asserting the right of return for the refugees, as per UN Resolution 194. Protesters refuse any humiliating settlement under the name 'deal of the century' and they object to the US decision to consider Jerusalem the capital of Israel and move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. The protests seek to reunite Palestinians at home and abroad.”
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
