Great Return March: Palestinian Teen Martyred After Being Wounded by «Israeli» Fire on Gaza Border

Local Editor

A 15-year-old Palestinian youth has been martyred on Saturday after being shot the previous day by "Israeli" troops during protests along the Gaza border, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"Israeli" forces had martyred 42 Palestinians since Gaza residents began staging protests along the border fence on March 30. The demonstrators are pressing for a right of return for refugees and their descendants to what is now the "Israeli" entity.

The Palestinians say the "Israeli" entity is using excessive force against the protesters, 2,000 of whom have been wounded by gunfire.

The entity's use of live fire has drawn international criticism.

"Israel" alleged it is protecting its borders and takes such action only when protesters, some hurling stones and rolling burning tires, come too close to the border fence.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein on Friday called the loss of life deplorable and said a "staggering number" of injuries had been caused by live ammunition.

The Gaza Health Ministry said apart from the Palestinian teenager, three other Palestinians were martyred on Friday and 200 wounded by gunfire. The "Israeli" military said about 14,000 Gazans had been participating in what it described as "riots," and that some had tried to breach the frontier.

More than 2 million people are packed into the narrow coastal enclave, where poverty and unemployment rates are high. The protests come at a time of growing frustration for Palestinians as prospects for an independent state look poor.

Dubbed the Great March of Return, the protest action is to continue until May 15 when, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said, the Gaza demonstrations will be replicated elsewhere along the "Israeli" entity's frontiers.

May 15 is the date the Palestinians mark as the "Naqba", or "Catastrophe," when hundreds of thousands were driven out of their homes during violence in the 1948-49 war between the newly-created "Israeli" entity and its Arab neighbors.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team