World, Middle East, Africa

Tunisia condemns Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza

Country demands international community put an end to Israeli violations

Sorwar Alam  | 02.04.2018 - Update : 09.04.2018
Tunisia condemns Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza KHAN YUNIS, GAZA - MARCH 31: A girl, affected by tear gas, is being carried away by a boy after Israeli forces' intervention in a demonstration within the "Great March of Return" at the Israeli border east of Khan Yunis, Gaza on March 31, 2018. Dubbed the “Great Return March”, Friday’s rallies in the Gaza Strip also coincide with Land Day, which commemorates the murder of six Palestinians by Israeli forces in 1976. It is also intended to pressure Israel to lift its decade-long blockade of the coastal enclave. ( Ashraf Amra - Anadolu Agency )

By Adil Essabiti, Gulsen Topcu

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisia has condemned Israel’s deadly attacks on defenseless Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, the foreign ministry said Sunday.

“Tunisia strongly condemns Israel's brutal attacks on peaceful Palestinian people who organized demonstration in the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the Land Day as part of the Great Return March events.”

It went on to express solidarity with the Palestinians and urged the international community to put an end to flagrant Israeli violations and policies of repression against the Palestinian people.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators on Friday converged on the Gaza Strip’s roughly 45-kilometer-long (28-mile) eastern border with Israel to demand their right to return to their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.

Ahead of the mass demonstrations, Israel deployed thousands of troops along the border.

Dubbed the Great March of Return, the protests also intended to pressure Israel to lift its more than decade-long blockade of Gaza.

The attacks by Israeli forces left 17 Palestinians martyred and nearly 1,500 injured.

The rallies Friday were endorsed by virtually all Palestinian political factions, which repeatedly stressed the event’s peaceful nature.

Land Day is an annual Palestinian commemoration of six Arab Israeli citizens killed by Israeli forces in 1976, during demonstrations against government land confiscations in northern Israel.

Tunisia condemnation joins a growing list of nations who have spoken out against the Israeli attacks, including the U.K., Germany and Italy.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.