Palestinian border protests to peak on May 15
The Palestinian border protests are expected to peak on May 15, the day after the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence but marked by the Palestinians as the Nakba Day, or "Day of the Catastrophe."
For the fifth consecutive week, Palestinians gathered on Friday for the "Great March of Return" on the Gaza-Israel border to demand the right to return to their ancestors' villages and towns in what is now Israel. The rally organizers chose to start their activities on March 30, the Land Day. On March 30, 1976, Israeli soldiers killed six unarmed Palestinians during demonstrations in protest over an Israeli decision to confiscate thousands of acres of lands in the Galilee and the Negev areas.
The protests were launched to lift Israeli blockade over the Gaza Strip. Following the Battle of Gaza in 2007, in which Hamas militarily defeated Fatah, both Israel and Egypt heavily tightened their respective border crossings, creating a "blockade" over Gaza Strip.