The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century
Thousands of Palestinians protested along Gaza’s sealed border with Israel on Friday, engulfing the volatile area in black smoke from burning tires to try to block the view of Israeli snipers and cheering a Hamas strongman who pledged that the border fence will eventually fall.
Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least seven Palestinians and wounding 293 others — 25 of them seriously — in the second mass border protest in a week, Gaza health officials said. Hundreds more suffered other injuries, including tear gas inhalation, the officials said.
The deaths brought to at least 29 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since last week.
READ ALSO: Israeli forces shot and wounded 40 Palestinian and died 20 protesters
The latest casualties were bound to draw new criticism from rights groups that have branded Israel’s open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israel’s defense minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.
The world should “wait for our great move when we penetrate the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa, (major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem)” said Yehiyeh Sinwar, the shadowy Hamas leader in Gaza visited the Khuzaa camp, receiving a hero’s welcome. He was surrounded by hundreds of supporters who chanted, “We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs!” and “God bless you Sinwar!”
It appeared to be the first time a Hamas leader specifically threatened to break through the border – something Israel has said it would not allow at any price.
The mass protests are perhaps Hamas’ last chance to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gaza’s economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.
Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gaza’s 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence.
READ ALSO: Israel Military not in attitude to change response to Gaza protests
After the first tires started burning, several young men with gunshot wounds began arriving at a field clinic at the camp.
Mohammed Ashour, 20, who had been among the first to set tires on fire, was shot in the right arm.
“We came here because we want dignity,” he said resting on a stretcher before paramedics transported him to the strip’s main hospital.
Yehia Abu Daqqa, a 20-year-old student, said he had come to honor those killed in previous protests. “Yes, there is fear,” he said of the risks of advancing towards the fence. “We are here to tell the occupation that we are not weak.” Hamas had billed the final protest, set for May 15, as the “Great March of Return” of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, implying they would try to enter Israel. But the group stopped short of specifically threatening a mass breach of the border fence.
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