JERUSALEM – Israeli troops fired tear gas and live rounds at Palestiniansthronging the Gaza-Israel border on Friday as part of a long-runningprotest, injuring about 30 people.

Medics said 10 people were shot and wounded and 20 more treated for gasinhalation on the Palestinian side of the 25-mile (40 km) border fence,where Gazans set up tent encampments on March 30 for what they call “TheGreat March of Return”.

Youths rolled burning tires to within 500 meters (yards) of the fence,using the smoke as a screen to counter Israeli sharpshooters on the otherside. At least 43 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army gunfire inthe last month.

Protestors said they used slingshots to down a small Israeli observationdrone overhead.

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An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

As Israel celebrates its 70th birthday, Palestinians mourn what they callthe “Nakba” (Catastrophe) of their people’s mass-dispossession during theconflict that broke out in 1948.

Two-thirds of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians are war refugees or theirdescendants. The Gaza protests have seen thousands gather – in greaternumbers on Fridays – to demand access to their families’ lost homes orlands, now in Israel.