Alwaght- At least 17 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of others wounded by Israeli regime forces as thousands marched near Gaza's border with the territories occupied by Israel and the West Bank in a major demonstrations marking the 42nd anniversary of Land Day.
Over than 1,000 Palestinians were also wounded after Israeli forces fired live ammunition at the protesters and used tear gas to push them back from a heavily fortified fence, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Protesters in Gaza gathered in five different spots along the border, originally positioned about 700 metres away from the fence.
Adalah, a legal center for Palestinian rights , condemned the Israeli regime forces' use of force, calling it a violation of international law.
"Live gunfire on unarmed civilians constitutes a brutal violation of the international legal obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants," the group said in a statement.
It also said that it would launch an investigation to "demand those found responsible for the killings be brought to justice".
Friday's demonstration commemorates Land Day, which marks the day - March 30, 1976 - when six unarmed Palestinians were killed by Israeli regime forces during protests against the regime's decision to expropriate massive tracts of Palestinian land.
According to Zionist media outlets, Israeli regime's army deployed more than 100 snipers on the other side of the border with permission to shoot to kill.
The march was called for by all political factions and several Palestinian civil society organisations in the besieged enclave.
Protesters said the main message of the march was to call for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
Some 70 percent of Gaza's two million population are descendants of Palestinians who were driven from their homes in the territories taken over by Israel during the 1948 war, known to Arabs as the Nakba.
Speaking to the protesters, Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, leader Ismail Haniya said: "The Palestinian people have proved time after time that they can take the initiative and do great things. This march is the beginning of the return to all of Palestine."
Today's march also comes at a time when many Palestinians believe there is an Israeli-American plan to liquidate the whole Palestinian cause - a plan that started with US recognition of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of the Israeli entity and taking the city’s status off the negotiation table.
