Gaza braces for violent protests after 58 killed

IANS  |  Jerusalem 

Fresh protests are expected at the border on Tuesday, a day after Israeli troops killed 58 Palestinians during demonstrations coinciding with the opening of the US embassy in

Palestinians were demonstrating as they have been for six weeks as part of a protest, orchestrated by Hamas, called the "Great March of Return".

Tuesday marks the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call Nakba Day (Day of the Catastrophe), which saw hundreds of thousands flee amid the creation of in 1948.

Tensions will be high in where the dead will be buried later in the day. Palestinians see East Jerusalem, which was occupied by during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in 1980, as the capital of their future state, the reported.

Palestinian called for intensified protests after Israeli said his military was acting in "self-defence" against Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, who he said wanted to destroy

Israel said some 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in "violent riots" at 13 locations along Israel's security fence along Gaza's eastern border.

Abbas announced three days of mourning and there was fierce condemnation from several countries regarding the bloodshed. However, Israel's key ally, the US, backed it.

French condemned "the violence of the Israeli forces against protesters" while Australian called on Israel to be "proportionate in its response and refrain from excessive use of force".

In a phone call with Abbas, Turkish "condemned the attacks and wished Allah's mercy to all martyrs". recalled its to and for consultations, according to state-run

said Israel had the right to defend itself "but should do so proportionately".

UN António Guterres was "profoundly alarmed" by the violence in Gaza and urged Israeli forces to "exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire", his said.

said: "The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with .. is intentionally and cynically provoking this response."

drafted a statement calling for an independent inquiry into the violence and expressing "outrage and sorrow" but this was blocked by the US.

also recalled its to Israel, condemning "the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack".

--IANS

soni/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, May 15 2018. 13:40 IST