Palestinians gather in Gaza to mark 'Naksa Day'

Palestinians have gathered in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to mark the day of "Naksa," the 51st anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel invaded Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

The "Naksa," Arabic for "the setback," refers to the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians as a result of the Israeli invasion of 1967.

"On the 51st anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian and the Arab territories, we affirm that we continue the march of return and break the siege in a peaceful and popular way until we achieve our goals," said Ismail Radwan, the leader of Hamas.

"We prepare for Friday, the Jerusalem-million on Al Quds Day, and we call on Arab and Islamic nations to go out on marches in conjunction with the Jerusalem-million day in Palestine and we say that the time has come to end this occupation."

Waving Palestinian flags, with some on motorbikes, the protesters held signs reading "#Jerusalem-million", calling on people to attend a large demonstration on Friday, which is the last Friday of Ramadan.

Gaza protests 

This year's Naksa follows protests on Gaza's border with Israel in which over 115 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops since late March and hundreds more were injured.

Over half were killed on a single day.   

The protests have been fuelled by widespread despair over an 11-year blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The blockade has devastated the Gazan economy, with unemployment now close to 50 percent, and made it virtually impossible for Gazans to travel abroad.