Palestinians Call Off Friday Protests Along Gaza Border After Israeli Raid - Organizers

Faizan Hashmi Published March 15, 2019 | 05:31 PM

The organizers of Palestinian demonstrations that usually take place along the Gaza border have canceled Friday's protest, hours after an exchange of fire between Gaza and Israel flared up tensions in the region

GAZA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2019) The organizers of Palestinian demonstrations that usually take place along the Gaza border have canceled Friday's protest, hours after an exchange of fire between Gaza and Israel flared up tensions in the region.

Explaining the canceling of the event as an "emergency," the Palestinians assured that they would still organize the Great March of Return in the future. The protests have been going on for almost a year now and traditionally gather mass rallies on Fridays.

"Guided by the public interest, the (organizing) committee has decided to postpone the events scheduled for this day [Friday]," the organizers said.

The statement comes hours after the situation escalated in the troubled area of the Gaza strip.

Israeli military said that several rockets were fired from Gaza. In retaliation, Israel attacked some 100 targets in the area.

Tensions are running high in the strip for nearly a year now, since the start of the Great March of Return protest March 30, 2018 which drew scores of Palestinians. The rallies often ended in clashes between demonstrators and Israeli troops, with the latter resorting to deadly force. As a result scores of protesters were killed and severely injured.

UN bodies, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other groups repeatedly slammed the violence along the Gaza border, demanding Israel to stop committing war crimes in the area. Israel insists that those killed are the members of Hamas group which it designates as terrorist.