GAZA BORDER: Israeli troops martyred at least 12 Palestinians and woundedhundred on Friday as they confronted one of the largest Palestiniandemonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border in recent years, Gaza medicalofficials said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians, pressing for a right of return forrefugees to what is now Israel, gathered at five locations along the fenced65-km (40-mile) frontier where tents were erected for a planned six-weekprotest, local officials said.

Gazans, including Palestinian refugees and their descendants seeking toregain ancestral homes in what is now Israel, have set up tent encampmentsa few hundred metres (yards) inside the 65-km (40-mile) fence thatseparates Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Large groups of youths have ventured much closer to the no-go zone alongthe barrier, risking live fire from Israeli troops to roll burning tyresand throw stones.

“Israel took everything from us, the homeland, freedom, our future,” saidSamer, a 27-year-old protester who would not give his full name, fearingIsraeli reprisals. “I have two kids, a boy and a girl, and if I die, Godwill take care of them.”

The number of protesters on Friday was larger than in recent days, butlower than the outset of the disturbances on March 30, when 17 Palestinianswere fatally shot by Israeli forces. The Israeli military estimatedFriday’s turnout at around 20,000.

Refugees comprise most of the 2 million population of Israeli-blockadedGaza, an enclave ruled by the Hamas movement.