Palestinians expand Gaza protests
The commission of the Great March of Return announced a sixth gathering point for daily protests at the border with Israel after talks between Israel and Hamas failed.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In the past two weeks, as Egyptian-sponsored talks between Israel and Hamas faltered and the security situation remained tense, the organizers of the Great Return March called for increased activities at the Gaza-Israel border.
After Hamas postponed talks with Israel on Aug. 26, the High Committee of the Great Return March and Breaking the Siege called for the resumption of daily demonstrations at the Gaza border with Israel. The protests, previously held daily between March 30, when they began, and the end of May, had lost momentum in the past three months, only taking place on Fridays.
On Sept. 21, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad began mobilizing residents of refugee camps in eastern Gaza to boost turnout at the protests. More than 10,000 people have so far heeded the call. The protesters are demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the lifting of the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza in 2007.
A Sept. 20 Islamic Jihad statement asserted, “The popular participation in the Great Return March and Breaking the Siege sends a clear message to the world on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly’s meeting. The message is that the Palestinian people are determined to restore their right to live on their land. The voices of the people are louder than the sound of bullets shot by those who want to oppress us, their terrorist politics, and the aggression that the occupation [Israel] exercises against us.”
