Gazans mark Land Day amid anti-coronavirus measures

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip marked the 44th anniversary of Land Day on Monday amid precautionary measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"We call for ending the inter-Palestinian rift and supporting our national project," Khaled al-Batsh, a leading member of Islamic Jihad group, told a press conference held in Gaza City.

He underlined the need "to rally efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus".

During the event, participants stood at distance from each other as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus.

Waving Palestinian flag, participants also held banners calling for lifting the years-long Israeli blockade on the seaside territory.

For his part, Maher Mezher, a member of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) group, called for supplying the necessary medical equipment to help in the fight against coronavirus.

"It's high time for breaking the Gaza siege and providing medicines and medical equipment, otherwise, an explosion against the [Israeli] occupation would be inevitable," he told Anadolu Agency.

As part of events marking Land Day, local police halted the traffic movement for a five-minute period, while a local committee responsible for organizing weekly protests against the decades-long occupation launched a campaign to disinfect streets and vital places in Ar-Remal district, west of Gaza.

Land Day commemorates the murder of six Palestinians by Israeli soldiers in 1976. The six had been protesting Israeli land confiscations where they were killed.

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara