 |
| Israeli soldiers take positions as Palestinian youths, not seen, hurl stones during clashes at the Al-Roub refugee camp near the West Bank city of Hebron, Sunday, May, 15, 2011. The clashes erupted following a demonstration to mark the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark the events leading to Israel's founding in 1948. – AP Photo |
Gaza : Israeli Forces opened fire on protesters in Gaza Strip, Golan Heights Ras Maroun in Lebanon and West Bank, as Palestinians are marking the 'Nakba' the day "Catastrophe". The "Nakba" is how Palestinians refer to the 1948 founding of the state of Israel, when an estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled following Israel's declaration of statehood.
At least one Palestinian was killed and up to 80 others wounded in northern Gaza as Israeli troops opened fire on a march of at least 1,000 people heading towards the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
A group of Palestinians, including children, marching to mark the "Nakba" were shot by the Israeli army after crossing a Hamas checkpoint and entering what Israel calls a "buffer zone" - an empty area between checkpoints where Israeli soldiers generally shoot trespassers, according to Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston."There are about 500-600 Palestinian youth gathered at the Erez border crossing point. They don't usually march as far as the border. There has been intermittent gunfire from the Israeli side for the last couple of hours.
"Hamas has asked us to leave; they are trying to move people away from the Israeli border. They say seeing so many people at the border indicates a shift in politics in the area."
West Bank clashes
One of the biggest Nakba demonstrations was held near Qalandiya refugee camp and checkpoint, the main secured entry point into the West Bank from Israel, where about 100 protesters marched.
MAROUN El-RASS Clashes
Lebanese security officials say four people in Lebanon were killed when Israeli soldiers opened fire at protesters who approached the border with Israel.
The security officials said there were injuries as well. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The demonstration came as a large crowd of protesters also tried to cross into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights from neighboring Syria.
End to Zionist project
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the events of Nakba Day in a televised statement on Sunday, particualrly referring to attempts to infiltrate Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, saying "we are determined to defend our borders."
He said that the Nakba Day protesters were not fighting for the 1967 borders as they claim, but were denying Israel's right to exist.
Meanwhile, a 63 second-long siren rang midday in commemoration of the Nakba's 63rd anniversary.
Over 760,000 Palestinians - estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants - fled or were driven out of their homes in the conflict that followed Israel's creation.
Many took refuge in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and elsewhere. Some continue to live in refugee camps.
About 160,000 Palestinians stayed behind in what is now Israeli territory and are known as Arab Israelis. They now total around 1.3 million, or some 20 percent of Israel's population.
