«Israel» on Alert: Army Gears Up, Snipers Posted to Face Right of Return March

Local Editor

The "Israeli" entity is on high alert as Gazans prepare for the annual Right of Return March scheduled for Friday.

Putting in mind that the army might have to deal with a particularly large demonstration, the "Israeli" military sent more than 100 snipers to the Gaza border in preparation for a planned mass Palestinian demonstration near the frontier of the besieged enclave.

Organizers hope thousands in Gaza will answer their call to flock, starting on Friday, to tent cities in five locations along the occupied border in a six-week protest for a right of return of Palestinian refugees to what is now the "Israeli" entity.

Citing security concerns, the "Israeli" military enforces a "no go" zone for Palestinians on land in Gaza adjacent to Israel's border fence.

Lieutenant-General Gadi Eizenkot, the military's chief of staff, told the "Israeli" Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the military would not allow "mass infiltration" or tolerate damage to the barrier during the protests.

"We have deployed more than 100 sharpshooters who were called up from all of the military's units, primarily from the Special Forces," Eizenkot said in the interview.

"If lives are in jeopardy, there is permission to open fire," he added.

Over the last few days the "Israel" Occupation Forces [IOF] has warned that it would open fire on anyone who tries to breach the border fence and enter the entity.

In response to frequent Palestinian protests along the Gaza border, "Israeli" soldiers have used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators whom the military said hurled rocks or petrol bombs at them.

The start of the demonstration was symbolically linked to what Palestinians call "Land Day", which commemorates the six 1948 Palestinian martyred by "Israeli" security forces in demonstrations in 1976 over land confiscations.

The Palestinian protest is due to end on 15 May, the anniversary of the Nakba or Catastrophe, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the conflict which led to the declaration of the "Israeli" entity in 1948.

Palestinians have long demanded that as many as five million of their compatriots be granted the right to return. The "Israeli" entity refuses to grant this condition.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team