March of Return Authority calls for more protests in Gaza

CAIRO - 21 April 2018: The National Authority for the March of Return and Blockade Break reiterated calls to participate heavily in the fourth Friday protests, dubbed “Martyrs and Detainees Friday”.

In the meantime, Israeli troops killed three Palestinians on Friday in Gaza amid continuous threats from Israel to use live fire against disarmed Palestinian protesters in a clear defiance to U.N. and human rights laws.

Earlier Friday morning, Israeli helicopters threw pamphlets at the five sites where the Palestinians were established along the border with Israel, warning the protesters against carrying arms and approaching the military sites.
The National Authority for the March of Return vowed the Palestinians to take to the streets of Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem to protest against Israel.

Dozens of Israeli flags were burned, as were photos of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, who is seen by protesters as cooperating with Israel, according to AFP.

Since March 30, Palestinians have protested against the Israeli occupation, which comes on the occasion of Land Day (an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the 1976 events) to demand the activation of the "right of return" to Palestinian refugees who left their homes in 1948 and to lift the siege the Israeli occupation has placed on the Gaza Strip.

Israel has dismissed criticism of its use of live fire by the international community. In the Israeli point of view, live fire is a part of its rules of engagement, which are necessary and will not change.

On April 13, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed "there are fewer riots on our border," adding that "our resolve is well-understood on the other side."

More than 30 Palestinians were killed and more than 4,250 injured during the clashes with Israeli occupation forces near the eastern borders between the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Palestinian medics stated that one of the dead people was aged 16 and that most of the casualties were struck by gunfire.

The U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs coordinator called for protecting the Palestinian protesters and offering them humanitarian aid. In an official statement released Friday, the U.N. coordinator described the situation in Gaza as a “humanitarian catastrophe,” according to MENA.

Thousands of Palestinians launched demonstrations, titled the “Great March of Return”, in the besieged Gaza Strip to protest against Israel’s refusal to enable refugees to exercise the right of return to their pre-1948 lands.

Many Palestinians were displaced during 1948 and ended up fleeing to Gaza. Displaced Palestinians and their descendants, living in the Gaza Strip, are recognized as refugees by the United Nations.

Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, U.N. assistant secretary-general for political affairs, briefed the council on the situation, saying, “What had begun early in the day as a demonstration, had devolved into violence at several locations across Gaza, with some reportedly coming from live ammunition that had been used by the Israeli security forces,” according to MENA.