Palestinians clash with Israeli troops along Gaza border

GAZA / Agencies

A Palestinian journalist died on Saturday after being wounded by Israeli fire while covering deadly protests along the Israel-Gaza border, health officials said. Yaser Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Me-dia, was the 29th Palestinian killed in the week-long protests.
Photos showed Murtaja lying wounded on a stretcher wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked ‘PRESS’ in large black capital letters. Health officials said a live bullet had penetrated the side of his abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was looking into the incident and could not comment further at this stage. The daily protests, dubbed “The Great March of Return”, began on March 30 along the Israel-Gaza frontier, reviving a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created.
The protests aim to highlight the Palestinians’ plight as refugees 70 years after Israel’s creation and as the US prepares to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in mid-May. The demonstrations have struck a chord with many Palestinians who see little to be optimistic about as Gaza’s economy sinks under the weight of war damage, an embargo enforced by Egypt and Israel, and sanctions imposed by the Palestinian government in the West Bank.
Hamas says the campaign aims to reclaim all of what is now Israel. Hamas adopted the protests after its rocket threat was largely neutralised by Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system and its attack tunnels are being rendered obsolete by an underground barrier Israel is building along the border.
“Today we’re sending a message that our struggle is without arms and guns, and we will wait and see if the world receives the message and pressures Israel to stop its crimes against our people,” senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said at a rally in Gaza City. “If the world fails to do so, then we’ll be obliged to use our arms.”
Tha’er Hasouna, a 20-year-old student from Gaza, said he turned out to support Palestinians’ demand to return to homes they fled or were expelled from when Israel was created 70 years ago. Most Israelis consider the demand for a “right of return” as a call to eradicate the Jewish state.
“I came here to join the marches and rallies to tell the world that we have legitimate rights and need to gain these rights back, mainly the ‘right of return,’” said Hasouna, adding that his family is originally from Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv. “I know that we can’t do it because we are not an army and can’t defy Israel. Therefore, we’re joining popular peaceful rallies hoping that our message will reach the world.”
Israel’s response to the protests has drawn international criticism, with human rights groups saying it involved live fire against demonstrators posing no immediate threat to life. Israel says it is doing what it must to defend its border and its troops have been responding with riot dispersal means and fire “in accordance with the rules of engagement”.
Palestinian leaders say Israel has fired indiscriminately at peaceful protesters, and Abbas last week called for international protection for Gaza. The US blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an inquiry into Israel’s actions.
Israeli officials said troops fire only at those actively instigating violence, noting that almost all the dead have been military-age males.