Palestine: The 71st Anniversary of Israel’s Takeover

Palestinian demonstrators run for cover from tear gas canisters fired by Israeli forces during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's independence in 1948, near the Israel-Gaza border fence, east of Gaza City May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1ED5A4E0F0

At least 47 Palestinians wounded by Israeli soldiers amid protests to mark the 71st anniversary of ‘the catastrophe’.

Thousands of Palestinians rallied on Wednesday to mark Nakba Day, what Palestinians call “the catastrophe” that befell them in the war that led to the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Palestinians gather during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the ‘Nakba’, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel’s independence in 1948, near the Israel-Gaza border fence, east of Gaza City May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem – RC18CE6E05A0

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes.

For more than a year, Palestinians in Gaza have been holding weekly protests along the fence, calling for the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to the territory, as well as for an end to a 12-year blockade imposed by Israel.

At least 47 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli soldiers during Wednesday’s protests, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. 

A wounded Palestinian boy is evacuated during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the ‘Nakba’, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel’s independence in 1948, at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa – RC16EBD31F20

Witnesses said the soldiers fired live ammunition, tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse protesters near the Israeli separation fence in eastern Gaza.