Key moments of the Great March of Return

The seven-week long Great March of Return protests along the Gaza border have been subjected to a massacre: 107 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Here are the key turning points of events since the movement began on March 30:

Palestinian demonstrators run for cover from Israeli fire and teargas during a protest ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border in southern Gaza , May 14, 2018.
Reuters

Palestinian demonstrators run for cover from Israeli fire and teargas during a protest ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border in southern Gaza , May 14, 2018.

Nakba, or "day of catastrophe," is officially marked each year on May 15 to commemorate the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

The term is not only used to describe Palestinian loss of land and property but also the loss of thousands of lives during the depopulation of Palestine from 1947 to 1949.

Israelis, on the other hand, mark the following day according to the Gregorian Calendar as Israeli Independence Day.

This year the Nakba coincided with the relocation of the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that was decided by Trump and drew worldwide outrage, especially from the countries in the region.

Palestinians started the Great March of Return protests seven weeks ago on March 30, marking the 70th year of the Nakba. On the first day of the march, Israeli forces fired indiscriminately on peaceful protesters and killed 17 Palestinians.

During the seven-week long Great March of Return protests along the Gaza border, 107 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.

Here are the worst days and the biggest atrocities of the seven-week long Great March of Return protests:

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March 30 - First day of Great March of Return

At least 17 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,400 others were injured by Israeli forces during the first Friday of the Great March of Return protests.

The demonstrators demanded permission for the Palestinian refugees to return to their hometowns and villages that their families fled, or were driven out of, when the state of Israel was created in 1948.

However, Israeli forces responded violently, using teargas and live fire to force them back.

At the same night, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, called for an independent investigation of the events.

There were also small protests in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

But the main point for the protests was Gaza, from which Israeli soldiers and settlers withdrew in 2005 after 38 years of clashes and negotiations.

And in 2006, Hamas was democratically elected in Palestinian elections. A year later, in 2007, Hamas took control of the strip from forces loyal to Fatah.

This did not go well with the Israeli government, for whom Hamas is a "terrorist" organisation. It continues to tighten its grip on Palestinians imposing a blockade via land, sea and air, restricting access to essential supplies and commodities.

It has been 10 years since Hamas took over Gaza, which it controls independently.

Hamas in Arabic stands for "Harakat Al Muqawama Al Islamia," or Islamic Resistance Movement.

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April 6 - A journalist killed

At least seven people were killed when the protests entered their second week, also more than 200 people were injured. Friday is an important day for the Palestinian protesters, since they already gather for the Friday prayers.

The second Friday of the Great March of Return was crucial because a journalist was also killed by the Israeli forces.

Palestinian protesters torched piles of tires to create a smoke screen to block the view of snipers, but random shots hit people protesting as well as journalists reporting the events.

Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, succumbed to his wounds early Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said.

April 20 - 445 Palestinians injured

Israeli soldiers firing from across a border fence killed five Palestinians.

A 15-year-old boy was among the killed, as several thousand people in blockaded Gaza staged the fourth round of weekly protests on the border with Israel.

Huge black plumes of smoke from the blazing tires engulfed the area, as Israeli troops fired teargas and live bullets, witnesses said. Gaza's health ministry said 445 protesters were injured, including 96 by gunfire.

Some of the injured were overcome by teargas, hit with rubber-coated steel bullets or hit by shrapnel, officials said.

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May 14 - Opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem

Monday marked the deadliest day since 2014 for Palestinians in Gaza as Israeli forces used live ammunition against unarmed protesters, killing at least 60 and injuring more than 2,000 people.

The deaths included a 12-year-old boy and a man in a wheelchair who had been pictured on social media using a slingshot.

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Demonstrators streamed to the border as the United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem and Israeli police increased the violence when they responded.

Amid deadly clashes, President Donald Trump's top aides and supporters were celebrating the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem as his campaign promise was fulfilled.

Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were leading the ceremonies.

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Several countries have condemned or voiced concerns over Israel’s violence against Palestinian protesters on the day the US relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

EU states including Britain, Germany and France condemned the violence in Gaza. Russia was also among the countries against Israel's violent response to the Palestinian protesters.

The massacre has drawn international criticism, but the United States, which has angered especially the Palestinians and Arab states, has echoed Israel in accusing Gaza's governing Hamas movement of instigating violence, an allegation it denies.

May 15 - Funerals 

Israeli forces shot dead at least two more Palestinians on Tuesday. Also an eight-month-old baby, Leila al Ghandour was declared dead.

Many protesters had gone to mourning tents rather than back to the scene of Monday’s bloodshed.

Mourners marched through Gaza, waving Palestinian flags and calling for revenge.

“With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs,” they shouted.

As hundreds marched in the funerals of the Palestinians, Leila al Ghandour's body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

“Let her stay with me, it is too early for her to go,” her mother cried, pressing the baby’s body to her chest. The family said she died of inhaling teargas.

At Gaza’s hospitals, families crowded the halls and spilt out of rooms as patients awaited treatment.

Diplomatic reactions and international condemnations continued on Tuesday, too.

Turkey told Israel’s ambassador to leave the country on Tuesday, and later recalled its ambassadors from Tel Aviv and Washington to have consultations and called for an emergency meeting of Islamic nations on Friday.

Hours later Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the Turkish Consul-General in Jerusalem had been summoned and told to return to Turkey for a period of time.

Eventually on Wednesday Turkey asked Israel's consul general in Istanbul Yosef Levi Sfari to leave the country "for a while"

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