Palestinians mass in thousands for protest at Gaza-Israel border - BBC News

30/3/2018
Palestinians mass in thousands for protest at Gaza-Israel border

Palestinians march to mark Land Day east of Gaza City
Palestinians in Gaza have marched in their thousands to the Israel border at the start of a six-week-long protest.

Palestinian officials say a number have been wounded by Israeli gunfire, after earlier reporting the death of a farmer due to tank fire.

The Israeli military reported "rioting" at six places and that it was "firing towards main instigators".

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

Who are Hamas?
Has Hamas changed?
Will unity deal end Palestinian feud?
What is the latest at the border?
Palestinian media are reporting about 7,000 people are protesting along the border.

Palestinian sources say five people have been wounded by gunfire from the Israeli military, three near Jabaliya in northern Gaza and two near Rafah in the south. Tear gas has also been fired.

Other reports put the number of wounded as high as 50.

Image caption
Map showing the position of the five protest camps. Source: Haaretz
Before the protest started, Palestinian officials said Israeli tank fire had killed 27-year-old farmer Omar Samour and injured a second man near Khan Yunis in the south.

Witnesses say the two men were collecting parsley in a field, BBC Gaza producer Rushdi Abualouf reports.

Relatives of the dead Palestinian grieve at a hospital in southern Gaza
Hamas, the militant group that dominates the Gaza Strip, has accused Israel of trying to intimidate Palestinians by killing the farmer and by urging them not to participate in the protests.

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

What have the Israelis said?
The Israeli military oversees a no-go zone along the Gaza border, citing security concerns, and has doubled its troop presence for the protest.

Israeli security forces take position as Palestinians gather at Beit Hanoun
It fears the protest could be an attempt at a mass breach of the border.

The military said that a tank had fired at two suspects after suspicious activity near a security fence near Khan Yunis and that it was aware of the reports of the death.

The Israel Defense Forces later said troops were "firing towards the main instigators" to break up rioting.

IDF
✔
@IDFSpokesperson
 Update from the Gaza Strip: Thousands of Palestinians are rioting in 6 locations in the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tires and hurling stones at the security fence and at IDF troops, who are responding with riot dispersal means and firing towards main instigators

8:30 PM - Mar 30, 2018

The Israeli foreign ministry has said the protest was 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.

What is the protest about?
Palestinians have erected five main camp areas along the Israel border for the protest, from Beit Hanoun in the north to Rafah near the Egyptian border.

The Great March of Return protests were starting on Friday, as 30 March 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 15 May, 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.