At least 38 Palestinians were killed and more than 1700 injured on Monday during their participation in the 70th anniversary for the Palestinian Nakba and denouncing the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing the Ministry of Health.
The Israeli occupation forces fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at the Palestinians on the border strip east of the Gaza Strip, according to WAFA.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered at the Gaza border since the morning heeding calls for mass rallies to protest the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem and to mark the 70th anniversary for the Palestinian Nakba.
The peaceful marches turned into confrontations with the occupation army after they fired live and direct fire and gas at dozens of Palestinians.
This comes as mass rallies were launched in the occupied West Bank cities in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba and denouncing the decision to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Participants in the rallies raised Palestinian flags, keys to houses and banners bearing the names of the destroyed Palestinian towns and villages within the 1948 territories, and others asserting adherence to Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.
The participants chanted national slogans that emphasized the right of refugees to return to their homes, and condemned the policies of the Israeli occupation and the international silence towards the legitimate rights of Palestinians, foremost of which is the right of return of refugees in accordance with United Nations resolutions.
These demonstrations come as the Israeli entity prepares to open the US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, in implementation of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli entity, amid intense security preparations after Palestinian calls for escalation.
Israeli media reported that about 2,000 members of the Israeli security forces will participate in securing the opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem in the presence of a high-level US delegation led by Ivanka, the daughter of US President Donald Trump, and her husband and senior advisor to the US president, Jared Kushner.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported in that a US delegation of 300 people, including Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, and dozens of members of the US Congress, have already arrived to participate in the opening of the embassy.
Since March 30, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have continued their peaceful sit-in near the separation fence with the occupied territories as part of the march to return and break the siege.
Since then, until yesterday, some 51 Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded by live bullets and suffocation, including hundreds of serious injuries caused by the repression of peaceful mass movement by the occupying forces. (QNA)
