Gaza City: The Gaza Strip has seen spiralling tensions for the past two months, with at least 121 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces mostly on the border.
March 30 saw the start of a major protest movement to demand the right to return to homes that some 700,000 Palestinians fled in 1948 when Israel was created.
The demonstrations have also coincided with the controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, after Washington recognised the disputed city as Israel’s capital.
– First deadly day –
On March 30 tens of thousands of Palestinians, including many women and children, converge along the border barrier which separates Gaza from Israel.
Officially organised by civil society groups, “The Great March of Return” is backed by Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the strip.
Several groups face off with Israeli soldiers, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
Israeli snipers respond with live fire, killing 19 Palestinians.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas says he holds Israel responsible for the bloodletting. Turkey, the Arab League, Egypt and Jordan condemn the Israeli response.
– Blockage at UN –
On March 31 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises troops for “guarding the country’s borders”.
The United States blocks a draft declaration at the UN Security Council urging restraint.
The draft also calls for an investigation of the clashes, as demanded by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini.
– After stones, kites used as weapons –
On April 6 thousands of Palestinians gather again near to the security barrier. Nine Palestinians are killed and nearly 500 injured.
Three days later Netanyahu pledges to “hurt” Palestinians if they try to attack Israel.
On April 13 new clashes leave one dead and more than 120 wounded by bullets. Some 400 people receive medical treatment, including for tear gas inhalation.
A week on, four more are killed on April 20 as the Palestinian mobilisation continues. The Palestinians employ a new weapon, sending kites across the border carrying cans on fire, according to the Israeli army.
– Bloodbath –
On May 14, the day the US embassy in Jerusalem opens, tens of thousands of Palestinians gather in front of the barrier.
At least 61 are killed by Israeli fire in the ensuing violence and more than 2,400 wounded.
A top Hamas official says most of those killed are its members.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority condemns the “terrible massacre” and calls for “immediate international intervention”.
– Crisis with Turkey –
On May 15 Turkey tells the Israeli ambassador to leave temporarily. Israel responds by expelling the Turkish consul.
In Geneva the UN Human Rights Council votes on May 18 to send a team of international war crimes investigators to Gaza.
A summit in Istanbul of Muslim heads of state calls for the creation of an international peacekeeping force to protect the Palestinians, as host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Israel of “brutality” comparable to the Nazis.
– Escalation –
On May 29 Israel strikes dozens of targets in Gaza in response to a barrage of mortar and rocket fire, which Hamas and allied militant group Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for.
The Israeli navy stops and seizes a boat carrying some 17 protesters who had set out from Gaza to protest Israel’s blockade of the enclave.
AFP