Several Injured in the Third Friday of Palestinian Protests Near the Israel Border

Palestinians in Gaza continued their protests known as the 'March of Return' on Friday for the third consecutive week along the border with Israel, and according to reports, Israeli soldiers' gunfire left several demonstrators injured. Although the early hours of the protests were marked by fragile calm, after the Friday prayers, as some demonstrators approached the Israeli border, Israeli forces opened fire on them. Palestinian sources reported that at least six demonstrators were injured on Friday, with one of the injured in critical condition, according to Reuters. The Israeli army has threatened to target anyone who approaches the border or attempts to cross the border fence. This Friday's protests, named 'Flag', involved burning the Israeli flag and raising the flag of the 'Palestine Liberation Organization' and other Palestinian groups. Demonstrators burned hundreds of Israeli flags and walked over some others that were thrown on the ground. Meanwhile, Israel has raised thousands of its flags within its territory in anticipation of its 70th anniversary. Palestinians also set many tires ablaze near the Israeli border, creating black smoke that engulfed the sky for hours. However, despite approximately 30,000 participants in the first Friday and about 20,000 in the second, it appeared that the number of demonstrators significantly decreased in the third Friday. Palestinian sources reported that the death toll since the start of the protests known as the 'March of Return' stands at 34 dead and about 3,000 injured. However, international news agencies reported that 16 were killed on the first Friday and 10 on the second. Israeli news sources also reported the death toll during this period as 32. According to Palestinian sources, three of the deceased were teenagers aged 14 to 17. Israel claims that '80 percent of the dead' in recent protests had a history of 'terrorist activities' and were members of groups like Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Israeli city of Sderot near Gaza in recent days and stated: 'For Israel, there is a fixed principle in self-defense: if someone comes to kill you, you kill him first.' Israel has also rejected requests from the UN Secretary-General and the EU's foreign policy chief to cooperate with an independent inquiry commission regarding 'excessive use of force' in confronting demonstrators at the Gaza borders. Nevertheless, Gadi Eisenkot, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, has ordered the establishment of an internal army investigation commission to review the recent actions of the military; this order was issued following intensified criticism over the killing of Yasser Abdulrahman Murtaja, a Palestinian journalist, in last Friday's protests. Yasser Murtaja was killed by a direct bullet while wearing a press vest. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Defense Minister, stated that 'Israel will not tolerate anyone who endangers its soldiers and borders, including those who have launched a motorized kite.' However, Palestinians showed past images to argue that Yasser Murtaja was not using a motorized kite, but rather, as always, was using a tall metal tripod to stabilize his camera for aerial photography. Seven other journalists were also injured in last Friday's protests. Yasser Murtaja wrote on his Facebook that like many of the approximately two million Palestinians living in Gaza, in his thirty years of life, he had never left Gaza and had been trapped in this strip. Palestinians have stated that they will continue their protests until May 25, which they call 'Nakba Day', to assert their 'right of return' and oppose the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem.