The recent violence is as a result of the following: in the context of the anniversary of the Nakba (when we lost our country and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were massacred or exiled, then and since), and in the shadow of the US Embassy of Israel being moved from Tel Aviv (the recognised capital of Israel) to Jerusalem (agreed to one day be shared between Israel and Palestine), many Gazans took to the street to protest 70 years of refugee status and unspeakable living conditions. The result of these protests so far? Over 114 (that we know of) Palestinians dead, and several thousands injured. Were all these protesters doing so peacefully? In all honesty, no – but reports state that those killed and injured by the Israeli army were on the whole partaking in peaceful protest, and many were children. The UN have just released a statement that they saw no evidence that Israel tried to minimise the death toll, and Israel has rejected a call by the UN and the EU to investigate their actions further.
