VIOLENT CLASHES erupted on Israel’s borders yesterday as Palestinians marched from Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza to mark Nakba day, the Arabic word for catastrophe, which marks the anniversary of Israel’s founding in 1948.
Even though Israeli security forces had been preparing for weeks for yesterday’s events, it appeared that the unprecedented scope of the protests took Israel by surprise and may help explain the high number of casualties.
Inspired by the Arab revolts that have shaken the region in recent months, Facebook sites called for May 15th to mark the beginning of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Some 1,000 Palestinian refugees living in Syria marched on the border, and hundreds managed to breach the border fence and enter the Druze village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights, captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli Six Day War.
Despite the hostility between Israel and Syria the border has over the decades been very quiet, and this was the first mass infiltration of Israel’s 44-year occupation.
Israeli troops killed at least two of the protesters and wounded dozens, but many spent most of the day in Majdal Shams before returning across the border to Syria before nightfall.
The most serious clashes on Israel’s border with Lebanon occurred near the Lebanese village of Maroun A-Ras.
Israeli troops opened fire after Palestinian and Lebanese demonstrators managed to reach the border and began throwing stones. At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded, but Israeli military officials claimed some of the fatalities were due to Lebanese army fire.
Earlier, in Tel Aviv, an Israeli was killed and 17 people injured when an Israeli Arab truck driver drove his vehicle into a row of cars and pedestrians. Police said the incident was a terrorist attack even though the 22-year-old truck driver claimed he had merely lost control of his vehicle.
The fatalities on the Syrian and Lebanese borders overshadowed large protests by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank who also marched on the Israeli border. Israeli tanks fired warning shells and troops opened fire to prevent a large crowd in northern Gaza reaching the Erez crossing point. One fatality was reported on the Gaza border. Similar marches took place in the West Bank, with protesters carrying large keys to symbolise homes left behind when hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees fled or were expelled during the 1948 fighting.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a televised statement saying Israel was determined to defend its borders and its sovereignty. The protests were about “undermining the very existence of Israel”, he said.
The Syrian foreign ministry issued a statement calling on the international community to hold Israel responsible for yesterday’s “criminal incidents”. Israel’s military spokesman, Brig Gen Yoav Mordechai, described the clashes on the Syrian border as an “Iranian provocation”. Another Israeli official noted the protesters would not have been able to reach the border without the blessing of the Syrian authorities, calling the incident a “a cynical and transparent act by the Syrian regime to create a crisis in order to distract public opinion from the very real problems at home”.
For years activists in the Arab world have been talking about the possibility of mass protest marches on Israel’s borders. Yesterday was the first time such a scenario materialised. Israeli officials expressed concern the clashes were merely a dry run of what will happen in September if the UN endorses a Palestinian state.