Thousands of Palestinians mark ‘Nakba’ with Gaza protests, West Bank marches

At least 60 said wounded as 10,000 march on border, with rioting, rock-throwing reported; senior Hamas official: ‘Day of your slaughter, extermination and demise is approaching’

By ADAM RASGON, JUDAH ARI GROSS and AP

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank participated in mass rallies on Wednesday marking the 71st anniversary of what they call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe” surrounding the establishment of Israel.

In Gaza, the IDF said at least 10,000 people flocked to the border between Israel and the coastal enclave at several locations. It said protests included rioting.

“The rioters are setting tires on fire and hurling rocks,” the army said. “A number of explosive devices have been hurled within the Gaza Strip, as well, and a number of attempts have been made to damage the security fence. IDF troops are responding with riot dispersal means.”

Around 60 Palestinians in Gaza were wounded by Israeli security forces, the Hamas-run health ministry said in a message to reporters. They suffered “various wounds,” the ministry said.

Several balloon-borne incendiary devices landed in southern Israel, where they sparked a number of small blazes, according to area firefighters.

An Israeli farmer uses a tractor in an attempt to extinguish a fire in a wheat field near the Kibbutz Nahal Oz, along the border with the Gaza Strip, on May 15, 2019, after it was caused by inflammable material attached to helium balloon flown by Palestinian protesters from across the border (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

In a speech at the border area, senior Hamas official Fathi Hamad, known for his fiery rhetoric, warned Israel that “The day of your slaughter, extermination and demise is approaching.

Fathi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, delivering a speech near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, February 19, 2019. (Screenshot: Al-Aqsa TV)

“We came to tell the Zionist enemy, its men, army, government and Knesset: ‘Go away from us,’” he said.

“All of you should look for a place in Europe…hell, the sea, the ocean or in the Bermuda Triangle. There is no place for all of you in Palestine. There is no place for you in the land of Jerusalem. There is no place for you in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jaffa, Haifa, Acre or any place.”

By 4 p.m. the Israeli military said Palestinians had already begun leaving the border area, far earlier than expected. According to an IDF spokesperson, protesters had started retreating from the border throughout the Gaza Strip, though he said the riots were not yet over.

In Ramallah in the central West Bank, hundreds of people marched from the grave of the late Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat to a rally downtown, calling for the return of Palestinian refugees to lands that are now a part of Israel.

Palestinian medics carry a wounded demonstrator east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2019, during a Nakba Day protest. (Said KHATIB / AFP)

Sirens also wailed across the West Bank at noon in an expression of sadness.

The Nakba refers to the displacement and dispossession that Palestinians experienced during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948-1949. Palestinians annually commemorate it on May 15.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes during the war, including many who sought refuge in neighboring countries.

Palestinian protesters demonstrate by the border fence with Israel east of Gaza City as smoke billows from arson balloons launched during the protest, on May 15, 2019. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

For more than a year, Palestinians in Gaza have participated in regular protests along the frontier, demanding Israel lift its restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the coastal enclave and calling for the return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to lands that are now a part of the Jewish state. The protests have included many acts of violence against Israeli security forces, and have seen at least 200 Palestinians killed.

Israeli officials maintain that the restrictions on movement are in place to prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from smuggling weapons into the Strip. They also say that the return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants would destroy Israel’s Jewish character.

A day before Nakba commemorations in 2018, Israeli security forces killed more than 60 Palestinians at a violent protest in the border region, which coincided with a ceremony marking the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem. The IDF said Palestinians at that protest attempted to sabotage the fence between Israel and Gaza, threw firebombs and rocks at soldiers and committed other violent acts. Israel said at least 24 of the dead were members of terror groups.

Palestinians hold up paper cutouts of keys as they take part in a rally marking the 71st anniversary of what they call the “Nakba,” or “Catastrophe,” surrounding the founding of Israel in 1948, on May 15, 2019 in Ramallah. (Abbas Momani/AFP)

Wednesday’s protest in Gaza comes two weeks after Israel and terror groups in the Strip reached a ceasefire, ending a fierce two-day round of fighting.