On eve of demo, Gaza youth fly kites near Israel border

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Dozens of young Palestinian activists on Thursday flew kites near the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel in advance of mass demonstrations planned for Friday.

Some kites bore images of the map of Palestine. Others were decorated with Palestinian flags or the trademark black-and-white Palestinian Kefeya or headscarf.

“About 150 young activists are flying our kites today at the border to reassert our right to return to our occupied lands,” event organizer Khaled Safi told Anadolu Agency.

“I hope tomorrow’s planned march will lead us to the land from which we were expelled in 1948,” he said.

On Friday, Palestinian protesters plan to converge en masse on the Gaza Strip's 45-kilometer eastern border with Israel.

All major Palestinian factions, including both Hamas and Fatah, have endorsed the rally, in which thousands of Gazans are expected to participate.

According to organizers, the demonstration -- dubbed the “Great Return March” -- is to be entirely peaceful in nature.

The event is meant to put pressure on Israel to lift its decade-long siege of the Gaza Strip and reaffirm the Palestinians' right to return to their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.

The Israeli army has reportedly deployed sharpshooters to the border area in advance of the demonstration and has threatened to use live ammunition if Israel’s “security infrastructure” is threatened.