More martyrs, more injured as protests continue
The men from Hamas arrived at Mohamed Johar’s house in the Bureij refugee camp this week with a US$200 (NZ$275) cheque bearing his name. The
23-year-old had been shot in the right leg by an Israeli sniper during last week’s protests on the Gaza border – and Hamas, Gaza’s Islamist ruling party, said the money was for his medical bills.
Johar leaned on crutches as he waited outside the Palestinian Production Bank in Gaza City to collect the money. Those with more severe injuries would get
US$500 (NZ$690).
The families of the 19 men killed last week would receive
US$3000 (NZ$4130) each. ‘‘Together we defend our Jerusalem and together we free our Palestine,’’ read the message on the back of the Hamas cheques.
As Israeli forces dig new earthworks for their marksmen and Palestinian youths stockpile
GAZA:
tyres to burn in front of them, every indication is that further clashes will bring more live bullets, more Palestinian deaths, and more cheques for grieving families.
‘‘Unfortunately, it’s going to be another bloody weekend,’’ said Brigadier General Nitzan Nuriel, the former head of Israel’s counterterrorism bureau. ‘‘Only when we don’t have any other choice, we order the snipers to open fire in order to prevent them from achieving what they want to achieve.’’
The young Palestinian men gathered at a protest camp in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip agree that the protests are likely to end in more bloodshed.
‘‘I believe there will be more martyrs and more injured, but we will keep coming until we get our land back,’’ said Ahmed elMedania, an 18-year-old student. ‘‘We are prepared to die for the sake of our homeland.’’
Like many Gazans, his family were refugees displaced during the 1948 war with Israel and never able to return to their homes. Medania describes himself as being from Jaffa, a city he has never seen in what is today Israel.
– Telegraph Group