Gazans flock to Israel buffer zone for 53rd weekly demo

By Mohammed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestinians flocked to the Gaza-Israel buffer zone on Friday, where they took part in ongoing anti-Israel demonstrations for the 53rd week in row.

Hundreds of demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and pro-Palestine banners, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent covering the event.

In a statement, Gaza’s National Committee for Breaking the Siege (which is comprised of several Gaza-based resistance factions) called on the people of Gaza to take part in Friday’s rally.

Since Palestinians began holding weekly rallies along the buffer zone more than one year ago, nearly 270 demonstrators have been killed by Israeli army gunfire.

Demonstrators demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

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 roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.