Thousands gather in northern Israel for Nakba Day protests

11 Palestinians were killed and 150 injured out of some 5,000 Palestinians who demonstrated to show solidarity with Hamas and the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of people gathered in the northern Israeli town of Sakhnin on Saturday afternoon to hold a demonstration commemorating “Nakba Day.”

Nakba Day is the term used by Palestinians to observe and protest on the Gregorian anniversary the day that Israel declared its independence in 1948.

The gathering comes after multiple days of protests and riots across Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, among other places.
Ta’al MK Osama Saadi spoke at Saturday’s protest calling for an end to the military strikes in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing violence in Israel and the West Bank.

“Arab society has arrived in the thousands tonight to oppose arrests, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s wild incitement, and the attempt to return us to a military regime that has already begun in Lod and Jadeidi-Makr,” the politician said in his address aimed at the Israeli government.

At the same time, hundreds of Jaffa residents arrived to hear Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi speak at a protest in Jaffa. He spoke about the events of the last few weeks, connecting the weeks of tension at Al-Aqsa to the current violence in Lod.
“Whoever broke out in violence and brought weapons to Al-Aqsa, forcibly brought settlers into Arab neighborhoods, harming and dispossessing the indigenous residents, and killed Musa Hasuna in Lod all ignited the fire that is now burning around us,” Tibi said.

“The residents of the city deserve security every day, and especially in these days. Our message is a message of life, because it is possible for things to be different. Things must be different.”

Two Arab Israeli children were injured by a Molotov cocktail that was thrown into their residence in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa on Friday night as riots between Arabs and Jews continued to grip Israel.

On Friday afternoon, at least 11 Palestinians were reported killed and over 150 were injured out of some 5,000 Palestinians who participated in violent demonstrations meant to show solidarity with Hamas and the Gaza Strip.
One Palestinian was killed after he tried to stab an Israeli soldier near Ramallah. The soldier shot the attacker. In addition, A 20-year-old is in serious condition after being shot in the chest during clashes in the Arab Israeli town of Kfar Kanna, located just north of Nazareth. Another 20-year-old is in serious condition after being shot in the thigh.
That morning, protestors in Jordan managed to bypass police and began approaching the border shared with Israel.
An estimated 500 protestors broke away toward the Israeli border from a larger protest of some 2,000 people that was taking place in Jordan’s Karameh, northeast of Jericho.

They began approaching the Allenby Bridge, known in Jordan as the King Hussein Bridge, and were forcibly dispersed by Jordanian riot police.

This event was the latest in a string of Jordanian protests against Israel this week, where they called for the removal of the Israeli ambassador, and the cancellation of the 1994 peace treaty. The phrase “let’s go to the border” has been trending in Arabic on Twitter since Thursday, apparently in an attempt to mobilize more Jordanians to attempt to approach the Allenby crossing.

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