Abbas calls on UN to protect Palestinians after Israeli troops kill 16 protesters

GAZA CITY: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations on Friday to take measures to protect Palestinians after Israeli forces opened fire on a huge protest in Gaza, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 1,000.
Abbas declared Saturday a day of national mourning.
The dead and wounded were shot with a mixture of live ammunition, rubber-coated steel pellets and tear gas fired from drones, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and eyewitnesses.
But the bloodshed failed to deter the demonstrators, many of whom told Arab News they would continue to camp out near the border for the next six weeks.
“We have nothing to lose. We are already at the bottom and we need a better life,” said 18-year-old Emad Abu Asser.
The UN Security Council is holding closed-door emergency talks about the situation in Gaza, a diplomat said on Friday. The meeting is being held at the request of Kuwait, the diplomat said.
Friday’s protest was supported by all of Gaza’s main political factions and was timed to coincide with “Land Day,” an annual event when Palestinians remember the deaths of six Arab citizens killed by Israeli forces during demonstrations over land confiscations in northern Israel in 1976.
The tens of thousands of Gazans who attended the rally traveled in buses from across Gaza to five locations along the border.
“We are here to deliver a message to the world that we deserve life and we want a decent life,” said Samir Al-Madhoun, 45, as he sat with his family about 800 meters from the border. He added that he hoped the protest would unite people in Gaza again, after years of tension between Hamas and Fatah.
“This day brings the compass back to the main issue, to the issue of the conflict with the Israeli occupation, which is the cause of the crisis we are living in. The world must intervene to restore our rights.”
Israel's military said in a statement that "thousands of Palestinians are rioting in six locations throughout the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tyres and hurling stones at the security fence and at (Israeli) troops, who are responding with riot dispersal means and firing towards main instigators."
Israeli forces have threatened to fire live bullets at any Palestinian who tries to cross certain border checkpoints.
Turkey accused Israel of using "disproportionate force" against the Palestinians. "We strongly condemn Israel's use of disproportionate force against Palestinians during the peaceful protests today (Friday) in Gaza," the Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier Friday, before the main protests began, a Palestinian farmer was killed by Israeli tank fire near the border.
The Israeli military said the tank fire came after "two suspects approached the security fence ... and began operating suspiciously."
Israel's military said in a statement that "thousands of Palestinians are rioting in six locations throughout the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tIres and hurling stones at the security fence and at (Israeli) troops, who are responding with riot dispersal means and firing towards main instigators."
Israeli forces have threatened to fire live bullets at any Palestinian who tries to cross certain border checkpoints.
Earlier Friday, before the main protests began, a Palestinian farmer was killed by Israeli tank fire near the border.
The Israeli military said the tank fire came after "two suspects approached the security fence ... and began operating suspiciously."
The march kicks off up to six weeks of protests dubbed "The Great March of Return," in the runup to the inauguration of the new US embassy in Jerusalem around May 14.
Among those taking part on Friday was Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Islamist movement Hamas that controls Gaza.
"There is no alternative to Palestine and no solution except to return," he said in a statement, referring to Palestinian refugees seeking to go back to land they fled or were expelled from in 1948 that is now inside Israel.
Israel has accused Hamas of seeking to stir up protests to encourage violence.

Abbas calls on UN to protect Palestinians after Israeli troops kill 16 protesters