Gaza protests to test truce ahead of Israel vote
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border early yesterday, hours ahead of mass protests that could severely test a fragile calm between the Jewish state and the territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas.
They mark the first anniversary of the often violent weekly border demonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed.
They also come just 10 days before a keenly contested general election in Israel.
Right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a stiff challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz and wants to avoid accusations of being soft on Hamas.
Late Friday, Hamas officials said a deal had been reached that would see the protesters refrain from approaching the border fence, in exchange for Israeli concessions.
But there was no confirmation from Israel and it was unclear to what extent the group can control the protesterss.
While demonstrations have taken place at least weekly since March last year, Hamas has been building up the anniversary protests for several months.
The group’s leader Ismail Haniya has called for a million people to gather across five protest sites, and mosques in Gaza late Friday used loudspeakers to encourage a mass turnout.
The protests peaked in May, when Israeli forces shot dead at least 62 Palestinians in a single day in clashes over the transfer of the US embassy to Israel to the disputed city of Jerusalem.
Early Saturday, protester Mohammed Saad, 20, died after being hit by shrapnel from Israeli fire, the Gaza health ministry said.
Witnesses said he had been taking part in an overnight demonstration.
The designated protest sites remained calm early Saturday, with only a few dozen young demonstrators present, overseen by Hamas security officers.
“These marches will not end until after the separation fence is removed,” protester Ismail Ghoban said.
“This is our land, not for anyone else.”
The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled in the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel.
Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state.
Demonstrations are expected to peak on Saturday afternoon, with tens of thousands potentially taking part.
Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.
Analysts highlight the desperate living conditions and lack of freedom of movement as driving forces behind the weekly protests.
Israel has maintained a crippling blockade of the enclave for more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gaza’s only other gateway to the outside world. — AFP