Hamas calls for protests on Tuesday to mark anniversary of Six Day War
Today is the 51st anniversary of the start of the Six Day War, in which Israel annexed Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters are expected to gather near the Israel-Gaza border to mark the occasion.
Since April, tens of thousands of people have protested the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza and have demanded the right to return to land that currently sits inside Israel. At least 120 Palestinians have been killed in the protests by Israeli forces so far.
Though a tentative ceasefire had been reached between the two sides after the most intense flareup of hostilities since 2014, it was broken on Saturday, when Hamas launched a wave of rockets and mortars at Israel, which were met with Israeli airstrikes and tank fire on military targets within Gaza.
With tensions running their highest in years, today’s demonstrations are likely to lead to more violence and could be indicative of the situation to come. Should Israel respond with force to the protests, which is likely, heightened and sustained violence between Gaza and Israel – similar to the conditions that led to the 2014 conflict – could be provoked.
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