The ‘March of Return protests’ were anything but peaceful.
This past month Israel celebrated its 70th year of independence. Whilst this was a joyous time for Israelis, the Palestinians marked it with protests at the Gaza border starting on March 30th. These accelerated in their violence as ‘Nakba’ day, the Palestinian term for the creation of the State of Israel, which translates as ‘the catastrophe’, approached.
Palestinians, orchestrated by Hamas, marched up to and tried to cross the Gaza border with the aim of entering and waging violence inside Israel. They set fire to tyres and kites, creating a thick, polluting smoke so that the visibility of Israeli soldiers guarding the border was compromised, allowing the 40,000 protestors a greater likelihood of entering Israel. Despite global media outlets labelling these protests as ‘peaceful’, they were far from it.
The Gaza protests were organized by Hamas, a terrorist organisation that seeks the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews around the world. They also arranged for buses to take as many civilians as possible to the border. This occurred alongside the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem on May 14th, which had sparked outrage from Palestinians who claim the city in its entirety. Both of these events marked 70 years of Israel’s independence.
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Contributed by King’s College London CAMERA Fellow Hadar Langerman.