Israeli forces injure 4 Palestinian protesters

By Meryem Kasim

GAZA, Palestine

Israeli armed forces on Monday injured four Palestinian protesters on Monday near Gaza-Israel border, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said four demonstrators were hit by live bullets shot by Israeli forces.

For the last seven months, Palestinians in Gaza have been staging regular demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone to demand the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948.

They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

Since the rallies began on March 30, more than 210 Palestinians have been martyred-- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.