Nakba: Arab revolt at Israel's gate

Jerusalem

Palestinians marked their annual Nakba day commemoration on Sunday, amid a series of intense protests and demonstrations in various areas of the Israeli border leading to at least 12 dead, the Missionary News Service reports. The protests extended from the Palestinian Territories to Lebanon, even reaching the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967, where thousands gathered near the barbed wire fences and walls marking the border between Syria and Israel, which responded to the provocation by opening fire against the crowds.

"The Arab revolt knocks at Israel's door," wrote Aluf Benn in Ha'aretz, noting that for the first time since 1974, hundreds of demonstrators have come to the Golan, breaking the fence at the border and managing to penetrate into the nearby Druze village of Majdal Shams. At least two people were killed by Israeli soldiers in the process.

At the Lebanese border, meanwhile, a crowd of a few hundred Palestinians tried to breach the border fence to enter Israeli territory. Israeli soldiers opened fire blocking the attempt and killing about ten people, while wounding about a hundred. In the morning at the southern border with Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians tried a similar breach at the Erez pass, where the military succeeded in pushing them back. The Palestinian population also engaged in riots for hours at the Qalandiya roadblock, not far from Ramallah in the West Bank.

"The status quo in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unsustainable - said UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon who appealed for self control on both sides - and being tested by the deep political changes in the region".

While, protests mounted at the Israeli borders, thousands in Cairo protested in front of the Israeli embassy. The day ended with at least 24 wounded after officers used teargas to disperse the crowds.

On Nakba Day, the Palestinian people commemorates the exodus of over 760,000 fellow nationals forced to abandon their homes and land. The are at the origin of the refugees - currently 4.8 million, having their dependents mostly residing in Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, and for whom the issue of "the right to return' constitutes one of the central items of discussion in the peace process.

Source: MISNA