The month of March, in its last legs, turned into an opening for another march, Palestinians’ March of Return.On six constant Fridays Palestinian demonstrators voiced their demand to return to their ancestral lands as their calls were enthusiastically welcome by Israeli live rounds and tear gas.
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A group of Palestinian independent activists scheduled six Fridays of demonstrations on Gaza border beginning on March 30th, marked as Land Day until May 15th, Nakba Day (day of catastrophe) the day for displacement of Palestinian nation from their lands and declaration of independence by illegal Israeli regime. Demonstrators have marked each Friday as ‘Friday of Rage’ ‘Friday of Flag Burning’, ‘Friday of Tires’ or ‘Friday of Martyrs and Prisoners’. A move which began by a group of independent protesters was endorsed by Palestinian Hamas movement.
The following is a review of the incidents and instances of the six Fridays each one a step in ‘The Great March of Return’.
In the first Friday of protests, Gazan refugees marched for the right of return to their homes in what is now Israel.
Hundreds were wounded by Israeli forces over the course of the day, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, near the borderline between Gaza and Israel on Friday as thousands gathered for the “Great March of Return” on behalf of the besieged enclave’s 1.3 million refugees.
The wounded included a number of paramedics and journalists.
Palestinians in Gaza began what one of their leaders has called a major new phase towards the liberation of Palestine and the return of their refugees. This is no mere symbolism; the refugees fully intend to return to their country — their whole country — from which they were brutally evicted in 1948 for the crime of being the “wrong” ethnicity and religion.
Unlike what happens after most other conflicts, though, the refugees have been denied their right of return, which is inalienable under international law.
On the second Friday the demonstrators burnt tyres to obscure the view of Israeli snipers who had killed and wounded hundreds of protestors the previous week.
Israel’s propaganda and its mouthpieces overseas — such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews — are portraying these unarmed marchers as “puppets” or “pawns” of Hamas since it is intended to do nothing less than whitewash multiple acts of murder.
This is while hese murders attract no mainstream media headlines, and no grave denunciations by Western politicians.
For years, western aid agencies have been predicting that Gaza will soon be “unliveable”. In 2017 a UN report said that the deadly threshold, had already been passed. The humanitarian situation has deteriorated because of the Israeli-led siege and brutal medieval blockade of Gaza Strip, aided and abetted by the Egyptian regime.
The campaign intended to put increasing pressure on Israel to reverse its decades-old policy of blocking Palestinian refugees from achieving their basic and very legitimate human rights: the end to Israel’s military occupation; full civil and legal equality; and the full right of return for every individual refugee. There is nothing to “negotiate” on any of these three points.
On Friday early morning, 06 April 2018, ten thousands of civilians, including women and children, within entire families started swarming to 5 camps established by the Supreme National Authority for the Great March of Return and Breaking Siege in eastern Rafah City; Khuza’ah in Khan Younis; al-Bureij in Central Gaza Strip; Sheja’eyah neighborhood in Gaza City; and Eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.
Following the Friday Prayer, the number of participants in the five assemblies increased, reaching to hundred thousands of men, elderlies, women and children. They deployed inside and outside the camps yards, raised flags, and chanted slogans and folk songs, while only a few numbers of them attempted to approach the border fence in order to throw stones and raise flags.
The Israeli forces fired live bullets at the protesters. As a result according to PCHR’s fieldworkers’ documentation- 7 persons were killed, including 2 in eastern Rafah, one in eastern Khan Yunis, 2 in eastern al-Buraij in the central Gaza Strip, one in eastern Gaza City and one in eastern Jabalia. All of them were hit in the upper part of the body; head, chest and abdomen.
Moreover, 718 civilians were wounded, including 77 children, 17 women, 3 journalists and 5 paramedics in addition to hundreds suffering tear gas inhalation after tear gas canisters were heavily fired by the soldiers stationed along the border fence.
According to a report by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)’s fieldworkers dozens of Israeli snipers and military jeeps stationed behind sand barriers along the border fence, east of the Gaza Strip, sporadically and deliberately opened fire at the participants in the peaceful assemblies that included hundred thousands of civilians and concentrated in 5 areas in the eastern Gaza Strip. As a result, civilians were directly killed, wounded, and hit with dozens tear gas canisters.
This is while the Israeli forces stationed 50-100 meters inside the border fence, rendering a far distance between them and the main demonstration protestors, while only a few numbers of the protesters attempted to approach the border fence in order to throw stones and raise flags. Thus, the distance between the soldiers and protesters cannot in any way pose any threat to the Israeli soldiers.
It is noteworthy that the assemblies were fully peaceful and PCHR’s fieldworkers did not observe and armed persons or acts among the protesters. Additionally, thousands of civilians, including women, children, and elderlies, within entire families raised flags, chanted slogans and folk songs, and flew kites.
The killed persons were hit to the head, neck, chest, and abdomen as in previous cases of Israeli targets among protesters. This proves that the Israeli forces deliberately killed and caused bodily harm to the demonstrators, in which most injuries were in the limbs.
Medical sources at the Gaza Strip hospitals stated that most of the wounded persons, who were hit with live bullets, suffered serious tissue laceration and deep wounds, which proves that the Israeli forces used explosive bullets.
On Friday, 13 April 2018, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 398 others, including 50 children, 8 women, 3 journalists and 4 paramedics. Among those wounded, 270 civilians, who were participating in fully peaceful demonstrations around 100 meters away from the border fence with Israel, were hit with live bullets, rendering 17 of them in serious condition. Upon a military and political decision from the highest levels, Israeli forces used deadly force against the peaceful demonstrators who did not pose threat to the life of soldiers. Moreover, a civilian was killed an hour after being shot by the Israeli forces in Eastern Khuza’ah in Khan Younis. Though the number of those killed on the third Friday decreased, the Israeli forces continued to use lethal force in order to suppress the largest peaceful demonstration that the Gaza Strip has ever witnessed along the border fence with Israel in the eastern Gaza Strip. Thus, the death toll has increased to 29 civilians, including 3 children, and the number of civilians wounded has reached 2165, including 352 children and 60 women, since 30 March.
PCHR’s investigations and observations by its fieldworkers confirm that though the number of victims killed this week decreased, dozens of Israeli snipers stationed behind sand barriers and hills and military jeeps along the border fence in the eastern Gaza Strip deliberately and selectively opened fire but more lightly than the previous times at the participants in the peaceful demonstrations that included dozen thousands of civilians in 5 areas in the eastern Gaza Strip. As a result, that civilian was killed and others were directly wounded, including 17 in critical condition, in addition to targeting the demonstrators with hundreds of tear gas canisters. All of this proves that on the last two Fridays, the Israeli forces deliberately incur maximum deaths.
The demonstrations were as always fully peaceful, and PCHR’s fieldworkers did not witness weapons or even armed persons dressed in civilian clothes among the demonstrators, who were thousands of elderlies, women, children and entire families raising flags, chanting slogans and national songs and flying kites. The demonstrators also set fire to tires and burned the Israeli flags while in other demonstrations there were folklore and sports shows. However, the demonstrators were targeted by the Israeli forces.
Again, there was no threat to the soldiers’ life and no Israeli soldier was wounded. Though few numbers of demonstrators approached the border fence and attempted to throw stones, they did not pose any threat or danger to the life of Israeli soldiers who were stationed behind sand barriers that are around 50-100 meters away from the fence.
During the fourth week, the Israeli forces widely used bursts of tear gas canisters targeting the center of the demonstrations and beyond away from the demonstrators near the border fence. As a result, many civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and seizures ; some of them were transferred to hospitals.
The ambulance crews were targeted in Rafah and al-Bureij refugee camp. This proves that the Israeli forces deliberately and explicitly target and obstruct the work of medical crews for the first time since the beginning of the incidents. As a result, dozen members of medical crews suffered tear gas inhalation while 4 paramedics were shot with bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters.
Also the Israeli forces again directly targeted the press crews. As a result, Ahmed Mohammed Hasan Ashraf Abu Hasan (24) was hit a bullet to his left underarm while he was covering the demonstration in eastern Jabalia and wearing his Press-marked vest and helmet. His injury was classified serious. Moreover, 2 journalists were hit with live bullets and tear gas canisters in Rafah while press crews on live streaming and standing 700 meters away from the border fence, east of Khuza’ah, were targeted with tear gas canisters.
Again PCHR’s investigations emphasize that civilian killed and other injuries were in the head, neck, chest and abdomen as there are 17 civilians, including a photojournalist, in critical condition, portending to increase the death toll.
On the fourth Friday of demonstrations as part of the ‘The Great March of Return’ in demand for return four Palestinians including a teenager, were killed in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
While Friday protests typically gain traction following noon prayers, the Gaza ministry of health reported in the morning that a Palestinian had been grievously wounded after being shot in the head east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The ministry stated that at least 645 Palestinians had been injured during Friday's demonstration as of 6 pm local time, including 24 minors and 12 women.
A paramedic had reportedly been critically injured after being shot by Israeli forces east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while journalist Mohammed al-Sawalhi was shot in the hand with an expanding dumdum bullet, and Palestine TV correspondent Sally al-Sakani suffered from severe tear gas inhalation.
According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli army has dropped leaflets in Gaza warning people to steer clear of the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, the army's Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, has argued that any woman going to protest in Gaza "lacks honour" and "acts wildly against her feminine nature" - drawing sharp rebukes from female demonstrators themselves.
International medical organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement on Thursday that it had treated more wounded people in Gaza in the past three weeks than it had throughout all of 2014 - the year of the last Gaza war.
"MSF medical staff report receiving patients with devastating injuries of an unusual severity, which are extremely complex to treat," the statement read. "The injuries sustained by patients will leave most with serious, long-term physical disabilities."
Fifth Friday in ‘The Great March of Return’ also ended with four Palestinian protesters dead and nearly 1’000 injured, an estimated number of 200 wounded by live fire, eleven reportedly in critical situation.
This is while Israel claimed that its forces “operated in accordance with the rules of engagement and thwarted the attempted infiltration” by “rioters” who “approached the security fence, hurled rocks and firebombs, and tried to light the fence on fire.”
None of the videos and photos from fifth Friday’s protests seen by The Electronic Intifada indicate that any participants were armed with guns.
The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated that its researchers did not see any militants or armed protesters in civilian clothes during Friday’s protests.
The Israeli government has justified the use of lethal force against the Great March of Return by saying that protesters are “trying to infiltrate into Israel, damage our infrastructure and kill Israelis,” as a military spokesperson told the New York Times.
In order to support that narrative, an Israeli government spokesperson tweeted a video on Friday which he falsely claimed showed a Palestinian girl saying of Israelis, “we want to kill them.” As Arabic speakers pointed out, the girl in the video did not say those words.
With Israel under growing criticism for its policy of shooting unarmed protesters, the bombing may have been an effort to provoke Hamas or other resistance factions into a military response, thereby making it easier from Israel’s propaganda perspective to justify its use of violence.
On Friday, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that Israeli forces, “in policing the Gaza fence,” may only “resort to lethal force in cases of extreme necessity, as a last resort in response to an imminent threat of death or risk of serious injury.”
The human rights body added: “It is difficult to see how tire-burning or stone-throwing, or even Molotov-cocktails thrown from a significant distance at heavily protected security forces in defensive positions can be seen to constitute such threat.”
The sixth Friday, as scheduled by Palestinian protesters ended with several people wounded by live fire across Gaza.
The Gaza ministry of health confirmed that at least 1143 Palestinians, including 36 minors, had been wounded as of 9pm local time. At least 70 people were injured after being shot with live bullets.
The ministry put out an urgent call for medical supplies, as the influx of wounded in the past several weeks has severely strained Gaza's medical infrastructure.
Days after International Workers' Day, the six Friday march sought to draw attention to the difficult economic conditions for Palestinians in Gaza where at least 43.6 percent of the population is unemployed according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and about 80 percent of the population is dependent on foreign aid to survive.
The six-week “Great March of Return”, which began on Palestinian Land Day, ended on 15 May - the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe), in which more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces during the 1948 war between Israel and surrounding Arab states.
Demonstrators have been gathering every day several hundred metres from the fence separating Israel from Gaza, where almost 1.3 million of the small territory’s two million inhabitants are refugees, to demand the right to return to their pre-1948 homes.
The month of March 2018 became the onset to one of the biggest popular movements launched by Palestinians which detailed their demand to return to their lands.
There is total national consensus on these issues among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, in 1948-occupied Palestine (present day Israel), and in the diaspora. Either in this popular movement or in any future diplomatic or national moves, nothing less than the full right of return will do.
Now the question is: to what extent has Tel Aviv understood the scale of next step for objectives of demonstrators in ‘The Great March of Return’?
