Thousands of Palestinians participated in mass rallies in Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday to commemorate “Nakba Day,” marking the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
At least 10,000 people flocked to the Gaza-Israeli border to take part in Hamas-orchestrated riots at several locations along the fence. Rioters hurled firebombs and stones at Israeli troops, set hundreds of tires ablaze, and tried to infiltrate Israel under the cover of the riots.
The IDF confirmed that several incendiary terror devices landed in southern Israel, where they sparked at least nine blazes. The army also said that Hamas canceled classes to send children to “riot” violently against Israel.
In the past, the terrorist group has sent civilians into direct confrontation with Israel – including women, children, and even babies – using them as human shields for their operatives. The deliberate use of civilian shields to protect military objectives is a violation of international humanitarian law, amounting to a war crime.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry said that around 60 Palestinians in Gaza were wounded during the violent protests. The full responsibility for the violence lies solely with Hamas, the terrorist group which exercises complete political and military control over the Gaza Strip.
In a speech at the border, senior Hamas official Fathi Hamad warned Israel that, “The day of your slaughter, extermination and demise is approaching.”
Leaving no room for interpretation that Hamas’s goal is the total destruction of the State of Israel, Hamad said: “All of you should look for a place in Europe…hell, the sea, the ocean or the Bermuda Triangle. There is no place for all of you in Palestine.”
For more than a year, Palestinians in Gaza have participated in Hamas-orchestrated riots along the border. The terrorist group organizes those marches to deflect from its crushing failures in Gaza and to redirect anger within the coastal enclave toward the border with Israel.
In the West Bank, hundreds of protesters marched in Ramallah from the grave of the late Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat to a rally downtown, calling for the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel.
[Photo: TRT World / YouTube]