Israel kills 16 Palestinian protesters injures hundreds in clashes on Gaza border, update

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palestinians march march 30The Palestinian health ministry says at least 15 people have been killed and 750 wounded by Israeli gunfire when Palestinians in Gaza  marched in their thousands to the Israeli border at the start of a six-week protest.

Palestinians protester is pushed by Israeli border policemen during a protest marking the Land Day in the West Bank village of Hawara near Nablus, Monday, March 30, 2015. Land Day commemorates riots on March 30, 1976, when six people were killed during a protest by Israeli Arabs whose property was annexed in northern Israel to expand Jewish communities. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinians protester is pushed by Israeli border policemen during a protest marking the Land Day in the West Bank village of Hawara near Nablus, Monday, March 30, 2015. Land Day commemorates riots on March 30, 1976, when six people were killed during a protest by Israeli Arabs whose property was annexed in northern Israel to expand Jewish communities. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

The Israeli military reported “rioting” at six places and said it was “firing towards main instigators”.

Palestinians have pitched five camps near the border for the protest, dubbed the Great March of Return.

They are demanding that refugees be allowed to return to homes that are now in Israel.

Latest at the border?

According to the  Israel Defense Forces (IDF)  there were about 17,000 Palestinians in five locations along the border fence. It said it had “enforced a closed military zone” in the area surrounding Gaza.

The IDF said troops were “firing towards the main instigators” to break up rioting that included petrol bombs and stones being thrown at the fence.

A spokesman said all those who were killed had been trying to breach or damage the border fence, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“Live ammunition was used only against those attempting to harm the fence,” Brig Gen Ronen Manelis said.

Israel has deployed tanks and snipers. Witnesses said a drone had been used in at least one location to drop tear gas.

Hamas, the militant group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, does not recognise Israel’s right to exist, but last year said it was ready to accept an interim Palestinian state limited to Gaza and the West Bank.

Addressing protesters on Friday, Hamas senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh said “we will not concede a single inch of the land of Palestine”.

He said: “There is no alternative to Palestine and no solution except to return.”

The IDF also accused Hamas of “cynically” using women and children, “sending them to the security fence and endangering their lives”.

The Israeli foreign ministry has said the protest is a “deliberate attempt to provoke a confrontation with Israel” and that “responsibility for any clashes lies solely with Hamas and other participating Palestinian organisations”.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman took the unusual step of tweeting in Arabic, accusing Hamas of playing with citizens’ lives and warning people not to take part.

The protest

Friday  March 30th  marks Land Day, which commemorates the killing of six protesters by Israeli security forces during demonstrations over land confiscation in 1976.

The protest is scheduled to end on  May 15th , which Palestinians call Nakba (catastrophe) and which marks the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the conflict surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.

Palestinians have long demanded their right to return but Israel says they should settle in a future Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank.

Erekat, a prominent Palestinian diplomat, member of the PLO and chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, claimed in his press release that “The Israeli government has been preparing the ground for attacks against disarmed Palestinian civilians protesting during Palestine Land Day.”

This is an annual protest by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank claiming their right to the land of Israel.

“Israeli occupation “

A wounded Palestinian woman is evacuated during clashes with Israeli troops, during a tent city protest along the Israel border with Gaza, demanding the right to return to their homeland, the southern Gaza Strip March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
A wounded Palestinian woman is evacuated during clashes with Israeli troops, during a tent city protest along the Israel border with Gaza, demanding the right to return to their homeland, the southern Gaza Strip March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Dr. Saeb Erekat released a statement criticizing Israel’s response to Palestinian “Land Day” protesters on Friday and emphasizing the Palestinian right to protest against the “Israeli occupation.”

Erekat said “Israel’s official incitement against the rights and lives of the Palestinian people has little to do with Israel’s security and a lot to do with perpetuating control over our lives by attacking every non-violent action against Israel’s systematic denial of our inalienable rights.”

He then called for the international community to “fulfill its responsibilities and to hold Israel accountable for violating Palestinian human rights.”

Last week Human Rights Watch (HRW)  urged the United Nations to take action over Israel’s expanding illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), part of what the global rights group described as an inherently “discriminatory” system.

As the UN Human Rights Council met in Geneva HRW said  that “in the last six months, settlement expansion has continued unabated, in violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power and to the detriment of Palestinian residents”.

Palestinians, the statement added, “live under a discriminatory, two-tiered system”.

Reaffirming that “settlements are unlawful under IHL, and the transfer of the occupying power’s civilian population to the occupied territory is a war crime”, HRW noted that “settlements are established on land unlawfully seized and rendered off limits to Palestinians”.

“They stunt Palestinian economic development and trigger crippling restrictions on the right to freedom of movement, access to health and education and a host of other rights.”

HRW also addressed the issue of accountability, observing that “businesses operating in settlements or facilitating settlement activity cannot do so without contributing to serious abuses.”

Updated: At least 16 Palestinians killed  and  not  12 as reported earlier

 

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24 responses to “Israel kills 16 Palestinian protesters injures hundreds in clashes on Gaza border, update”

  1. Danny Farah Avatar
    Danny Farah

    I am suprised Y K is not reporting here. what a pity..

  2. Niemals Avatar

    Is Hamas trying to provoke the Israeli state to march into Gaza with the so called “The Great March of Return”?
    http://disq.us/p/1rdblve

    1. It’s trying to provoke the (Arab) world’s pity: the only way to squeeze out some donations. 🙂

      1. Niemals Avatar

        The only practical donations needed are burial coffins.

        1. I am really surprised to read your comment . I realize you don’t like the Palestinians , but on the other hand civilized people don’t wish death to anyone including their enemy . I think if you consider yourself a civilized human being you should apologize for the statement you have just made, it is the only ethical thing to do . I will be waiting

          1. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            These Christian haters are all over YaLibnan. On Good Friday Easter Christmas & New Year. And never forget the real killers.

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4cff1875a844ad57b09b9308c23162a6732b7b07bb39893b69a4bbf6578261de.jpg

          2. You are no Christian, Bumbyad. You and your ilk are more like Satanists, just without the fun parties. 🙂

          3. Niemals Avatar

            First we put it all in the right perspective.
            The hundreds of Palestinians that have been injured and at least 15 was killed by Israeli security forces against the Gaza-Israel border, are not Hamas members.

            If there is someone who wants death to someone including enemy, then you come to the wrong address.
            Hindler tell Abbas; “Poor Devil, die already!“….
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bfd3b189bcae649161b0aead60676f46a968638dcc302bf3a12f67e8cd5465be.jpg you can check her Twitter if you belong to one of those that have access. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ebbf955173b62f1a35bd5eca603250a1898a8bc3af94ba4ae013449c845e290e.jpg

            You say that I do not like the Palestinians, but judge by yourself why i’m not their best friend.
            You must remember this Ahmad A. (26) that didn’t get any asylum in Germany; he just wanted to kill as many German Christians as possible.
            https://youtu.be/ARAq5OpiRyE
            http://disq.us/p/1qji15q

            Hamas does not donate any tombs to the poor Palestinians killed at the Gaza / Israel border.
            A true burial requires burial coffins (or do you prefer mass graves?), and then it will be the only practical donation – other products are not allowed to be delivered to Gaza.

            As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “those concerned to refrain from any act that could lead to further casualties”, however it will get worse since the IDF is implementing the exact same policy at the Gaza’s ‘Great Return March’ that the first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion ordered the army to shoot and kill any Palestinian who dared cross the new borders to return.

          4. You disappointed me greatly

          5. Niemals Avatar

            Is science too scared to study how the Resurrection of Christ may have been possible? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a8d52354c4a39fcd2ef68d8d857dd28b469749f1929c78fc64a8fb864af92872.jpg
            Why do some believers want scientists not to explain ‘supernatural’ events like the parting of the Red Sea scientifically?
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7b6d0fd42dae5d0a157d6e43d5bd475da0cfd0941c263cb0e824a9372d7091db.jpg FAKE FAKE
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d0ee599494cda0c6eb6c7bde6efe7e1a496bea90a732a3f52aa325e9d241ead0.jpg
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/aeaf5dbd6d3997732bfec0def2980af1a6fe0029174e113d1f4f2b4456191612.jpg The magazine “Stern” dedicated an issue to the Turin Shroud.
            Photo: stern

            Additional disappointment…?

        2. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          What a lame sub-human specie…i’m less polite than Arzna

      2. Hind Abyad Avatar
        Hind Abyad

        US billions donations to Israel crooks and liars is not enough..

        “It seems that £35 million of public money have also disappeared down the black hole of the Labor fund, established by then-Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to support war veterans. The Sunday Times disclosed that in fact, it “wasted” vast amounts of money.

        In England, philanthropic organizations have become a bureaucracy. There are evidently more than 195,289 registered charities in the United Kingdom that collect and spend almost £80 billion a year. Altogether, the NGOs employ one million employees, more than the automobile, aerospace and chemical sectors in the UK. Most of the large NGOs in the UK, however, spend less half of their income each year on charitable works, according to the True and Fair Foundation. The Daily Telegraph found that the executives of many NGOs saw their salaries increase, despite efforts to curb pay levels.”

  3. Rudy1947 Avatar

    This protest reminds me of…. running in place. You might work up a sweat but it doesn’t take you anywhere and little accomplishment. The Gaza’s should consider doing an about face and march on Hamas and demand a better life, a productive society and a better future. Fat chance of that happening though.

    1. But Hamas will certainly blame Israel for the shitty life the Palestinians have in Gaza.
      I realize you don’t give a damn about the Palestinians and their cause but this does not diminish the importance of protests to demand their rights in their own “occupied” homeland. All changes in history started with protests of all types .

      1. Rudy1947 Avatar

        Hamas will blame anything, real or imagined, on the Jews. That’s a constant that will never go away.

        The Palestinian cause is or was the cause of much of the Muslim world. The very idea of a Jewish nation with self determination, regardless of how small, is just unconceivable.

        The victors of those protests are what shaped the world. What happened to the Ottoman Empire?

        1. Niemals Avatar

          Was Hamas hardliner Yehiya Sinwar at the Gaza-Israel border?
          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6b95d1b877cb0b23cdff63404d0034f4e55ea3a5e57d893dbb5e2f2dff74d206.jpg The 15 May, perhaps will turn to be a new Nakba.

          Is this whole locomotion done to cover up an attempt by Hamas to sneak into Israel by a unknown tunnel? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3870a4d4d75880fa86b855c9145ab92d152d9020d207811e32aba1a576b4e162.jpg

    2. Niemals Avatar

      Abbas said there had been “zero” progress in reconciliation, citing efforts to bring a power-sharing deal to bear on the crossings out of the Gaza Strip and on security within the enclave.

      That’s why I don’t believe that Gazan’s will consider doing anything about a march on Hamas and demand a better life, a productive society and a better future.

      Relations have grown even worse since Hamdallah and Palestinian security chief Majid Faraj’s convoy was attacked by a roadside bomb in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on March 13.

      However I don’t understand what Arzna meant with “demand their rights in their own “occupied” homeland.”, the illegal occupation of the West Bank or the liberated Gaza…

  4. Niemals Avatar

    Palestinian officials, Turkey and Iran accuse Israel of ‘brutally massacring’ peaceful protesters, how they explain https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f222af14d24a95cd67e65b7395b8ed4552e2ac0ea3ec57c0c3c4030d40e6eb6e.jpg

    1. Gotta love this handsome “peaceful protester”. 🙂

      1. Hind Abyad Avatar
        Hind Abyad

        Sure, he must be this settler’s “Jew brother from Arabia-Yemen”. Smirk
        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/734fd5f408b8590d534adcba14c2762e1dd75ff243337f9d433feaf63c849a63.jpg

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