30 March 2018•Update: 30 March 2018
By Zuhal Demirci
ANKARA
Turkey on Friday condemned Israel’s excessive use of force against Palestinians during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, resulting in at least six protestors being killed by Israeli army gunfire.
“Israel must immediately cease the use of force that will further increase tension in the region,” said a Foreign Ministry statement, expressing concern over deaths and injuries due to Israel’s excessive use of force.
Turkey calls on the international community to fulfill its responsibility to deter Israel from this aggressive attitude, the statement added.
Earlier Friday, thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip converged on the strip’s eastern border with Israel, where they are holding mass rallies reaffirming their right to return to their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.
At least seven Palestinian demonstrators were killed and at least 420 were injured Friday by Israeli troops deployed near the Gaza border.
Dubbed the “Great Return March,” Friday’s mass demonstrations also included rallies across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The rallies have been endorsed by virtually all Palestinian political factions, which have repeatedly stressed the event’s peaceful nature.
Friday’s demonstrations also coincide with Land Day, which commemorates the murder of six Palestinians by Israeli forces in 1976.
