GAZA CITY – Tens of thousands of Gazans gathered at the Israeli borderSaturday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fearsof mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations.
Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during an overnightdemonstration and two 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the healthministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded.
But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that sawmore than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United Statestransferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialize.
Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with theanniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections.
Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas torein in violence.
Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel easeits crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm.
Tens of thousands gathered at five protest points along the frontier onSaturday, but the vast majority stayed away from the border fence.
East of Gaza City, small groups of young men approached the fence andsought to break it multiple times but was forced back by Israeli tear gasand live fire.
The protesters threw stones at the Israeli soldiers.
An Egyptian security delegation visited the protest site east of Gaza City,as did Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Yahya Sinwar.
Israel’s army said around 40,000 “rioters and demonstrators” had gatheredin spots throughout the border.
It said grenades and explosive devices were hurled at troops, who responded”in accordance with standard operating procedures.”
Negotiated calm
Protesters were marking the first anniversary of often violent weeklydemonstrations in which around 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier havebeen killed.
The death of the two 17-year-olds brought to at least 50 the number ofPalestinian children killed in Gaza since protests began charity Save theChildren said.
In the run-up to the anniversary, Egypt, the long-time mediator between theparties, had shuffled back and forth seeking to avoid major bloodshed.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim called Saturday’s protest “a veryimportant message” that thousands had gathered “peacefully to raise theirvoice against aggression and the imposed siege on Gaza.”
He confirmed that Egypt had made progress towards a deal that media reportssaid would see Israel allow more Qatari aid into the strip and ease somerestrictions.
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In exchange Hamas would maintain calm at the border protests.
Khalil al-Hayya, another senior figure in the Islamist movement, said theywere expecting to receive a timetable from Israel on Sunday. There was noIsraeli comment on the alleged agreement.
Israel holds a keenly contested general election on April 9 in which PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge from centrist formermilitary chief Benny Gantz.
He is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major escalation, but has at thesame time faced political pressure over accusations of being soft on Hamas.
The anniversary came only days after another severe flare-up of violencebetween Israel and Hamas, sparked by a rare long-range rocket strike fromGaza. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire restored calm.
The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return toland their families fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war thataccompanied Israel s creation.
Israel says any such mass return would spell the end of a Jewish state andthat its actions have been necessary to defend the border.
It accuses Hamas of orchestrating violence, but its soldiers’ use of livefire has come under heavy criticism.
Last month, a United Nations probe said Israeli soldiers had intentionallyfired on civilians in what could constitute war crimes.
Two million Palestinians live in impoverished Gaza, crammed between Israel,Egypt and the Mediterranean.
Analysts highlight desperate living conditions and lack of freedom ofmovement as driving forces behind the protests.
Israel, which has fought three wars with Hamas, has blockaded the enclavefor more than a decade, and Egypt often closes Gaza’s only other gateway tothe outside world.
Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Unionand others.
Many protesters over the past year have remained far back from the fenceand demonstrated peacefully, but others have approached in numbers andclashed with soldiers.
Small groups have attached incendiary devices to balloons to float themover the border in an attempt to set fire to nearby Israeli homes andfarmland. – APP/AFP
