the 80th and 81st Great March of Return protests

‘PCHR Gaza: 95 Civilians Shot And Injured, Including 43 Children, At 80th Great March Of Return’, By Staff, Imemc.org, Oct. 26, 2019

“In Gaza on Friday, 95 Palestinian civilians, including 43 children, a woman, 2 paramedics and a journalist, were shot and injured by Israeli forces, who fired live rounds against peaceful Palestinian protesters at the 80th Great March of Return.

Israeli forces continued to use excessive force against peaceful protesters, wounding 36 civilians with live bullets and shrapnel in addition to other injuries in the upper body due to direct targeting with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters.

Thousands of civilians took part in this week’s peaceful protests entitled: “For our Prisoners in Israeli Jails and al-Aqsa Mosque”, raising the Palestinian flag and chanting national slogans.” [snip]
“The protests lasted from 3:00 to 6:30 pm, and involved activities such as speeches and theatrical performances. Hundreds of civilians protested at varied distances from the border fence across the Gaza Strip, where some protesters set tires on fire and a few of them attempted to throw stones, Molotov Cocktails and firecrackers at the Israeli forces, who responded with excessive force.”

The following is a summary of today’s events along the Gaza Strip border:

Northern Gaza Strip
Gaza City
Central Gaza Strip
Khan Younis
Rafah

PCHR provides brief descriptions of the injuries in the above locations; some include photos.

Information wars abound: ‘Thousands of Gazans take part in weekly border protests, rioters attack troops; Army says soldiers respond to bombs, Molotov cocktails and rocks with riot dispersal measures and in some cases live fire; Palestinians report at least 60 injured, By TOI staff, November 1, 2019 timesofisrael.com

“The army said rioting was taking place, with troops being attacked with improvised explosive devices, Molotov cocktails and rocks. In once instance a military vehicle was hit with a firebomb, but none were hurt.

Soldiers responded with less-lethal means as well as live fire against main instigators, the military said.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported at least 60 people had been wounded in the protests.

Since March 2018, Palestinians have been holding weekly “March of Return” protests on the border, which Israel has accused Gaza’s Hamas rulers of using to carry out attacks on troops and attempt to breach the security fence. Hamas, an Islamist terror group, seeks to destroy Israel.

‘A Public Relations Scam: J Street Conference Attracts War Criminals and Zionist Liberals Alike’;  J Street was designed to make Zionists, particularly Israeli liberals, feel good about themselves and look good to the outside world without actually having to commit to peace’, Miko Peled, mintpressnews.com, Oct. 25, 2019  (Creative Commons)

“On its website, J Street states that it “organizes and mobilizes pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the Jewish people.” In other words, it is an organization that perpetuates one of the biggest public relations scams in the world today: that one can be pro-Israel and pro-peace, and that Israel can be democratic.

Furthermore, J-Street claims that it advocates “policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” The keywords to note here are “two-state solution.”

This so-called solution is the mastermind of Zionist strategists who knew from the very beginning that presenting a solution to the Palestinian issue would allow Israel to present itself as a peace-loving state that recognizes Palestinians rights, albeit limited ones, and then to blame the Palestinians when the plan fails.

The honest thing to do would be to admit that the “two-state solution” is little more than a public relations stunt. However, being a Zionist organization, J Street promotes this lie, and it is by no means the only lie perpetuated by this fig leaf organization.” [snip]

“This year’s J Street conference features hawkish former Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak as well as a cadre of liberal US politicians.”  [Peled includes 13 names and photos]

“J Street, and particularly its conference, maybe the most shameless expression of “normalization” to date. By bringing Israeli and Palestinian groups and individuals together to a pro-Zionist, pro-Israel conference, they promote a false equivalency between occupied and occupier, oppressor and oppressed, those who fight to resist and survive and those who kill to impose apartheid laws. It is clear why this is good for Israeli war criminals and Zionist apologists, but why are “peace” and “goodwill” groups willing to participate in this charade?

The normalization industry is a fig leaf that hides the illegitimacy of the Zionist state with heartfelt stories of courage and personal loss. And while the initial attempt to bring people together to hear one another may have been sincere, it is clear today that the result was a miserable failure and a nightmare for Palestinians. Although the goal, at least in part, is to improve the lives of both Palestinians and Israelis, at the end of these meetings Palestinians return to their endless nightmare and Israelis to their well-paved neighborhoods with limitless water, electricity, and freedom.”

https://twitter.com/AhmedShameya/status/1190369787454595073

https://twitter.com/RawanNassar13/status/1190304237311397892

(cross-posted at caucus99percent.com)