KHAN YUNIS, April 2,2018 (WAFA)- A Palestinian Monday succumbed to his wounds three days after being shot by Israeli snipers as he participated in the largest non-violent demonstration to the east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said, raising the death toll to 17.
Medics at the European Hospital announced that Faris al-Raqib, 29, succumbed of his serious wounds he sustained after being shot in the stomach as tens of thousands of Palestinians participated in the Great March of Return along Gaza borders.
In addition to the 17 Palestinians killed, approximately 1,500 others were wounded, including many who are still being hospitalized after being shot by explosive bullets, also known as “dum dum” bullets, resulting in calls for an independent inquiry by the European Union and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Thousands of Palestinians Friday launched the Great March of Return in the besieged Gaza Strip to demand their right of return to their villages and towns they were forcibly displaced from in 1948.
The peaceful protests began on March 30, which coincided with the 42nd anniversary of the Land Day, which marks the day Israeli forces killed six Palestinians during protests against land confiscation in 1976.
The 46-day mass protests are expected to continue until May 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe), in which over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.
The Israeli cabinet has decided to beef up military deployments, including over 100 snipers, and use live fire and shoot-to-kill orders “if Palestinians breach (or approach)” the border fence.
C.K./ K.F.
