Fears of more violence in Gaza ahead of tyre-burning protest

Palestinian youths have been gathering tyres. Photo / AP

Young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip ferried carts of tyres to the fence with Israel yesterday, stacking them to be burned in a demonstration dubbed the "Friday of Tyres" and sparking concerns of violence a week after the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

At a demonstration point near Gaza City, protesters began burning the tyres yester, with rock-throwers taking cover behind the thick billowing black smoke. Israeli forces used gunfire and tear gas to keep them away from the border fence.

Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and other major Palestinian factions have thrown their weight behind demonstrations in the 360sq km territory on the Mediterranean Sea. Eighteen Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd that massed on the border for a demonstration called the "March of Return" last week on Land Day, an annual commemoration of a 1976 protest against Israeli confiscation of Arab-owned land.

Israel has said the crowd was violent and that Hamas, which the United States and Israel classify as a terrorist organisation, has tried to use the demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks.

While most of the crowd was peaceful as more than 30,000 Palestinians gathered near the dividing line with Israel, groups of young men threw rocks and molotov cocktails toward the fence.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said more than 1400 were injured, including 758 by gunshots.

Hamas confirmed yesterday that it was giving compensation to people who were injured — US$200 ($275) for those lightly injured, US$500 for serious injuries, and US$3000 to families of those killed.

Political analysts in Gaza say Hamas has seized on the demonstrations, the idea for which has been credited to a local activist, as part of a new strategy. They say Hamas is attempting to use nonviolent protests to pressure and embarrass Israel, without giving up its own armed struggle, while deflecting the pressure building up against it due to Gaza's economic crisis.

Hamas and the committee purportedly running the demonstrations say they want a peaceful protest. The committee includes independent activists as well as Hamas representatives.

The decision to burn tires has divided Palestinians in Gaza. The demonstration's organising committee opposes it, concerned that tyre-burning will mar the protest.

Gazans say the idea circulated on social media, where it has also received pushback.