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GAZA PROTEST OF ISRAELI SIEGE YIELDS DISAPPOINTING TURNOUT

Monday, February 25, 2008

Thousands of soldiers idle as fears of Palestinian border breach prove unfounded at Nativ Ha'asra/Nachal Oz on Monday February 25, 2008. A Palestinian attempt to draw international attention to Israel's siege on the Gaza Strip yielded a disappointing turnout Monday, with a few thousand, rather than the expected tens of thousands, forming a human chain of protest. The protesters, many women and children and many holding Palestinian and Hamas flags, turned out for the start of what organizers said they hoped would be a peaceful protest involving some 50,000 people. About 5,000 people, many of them schoolchildren and university students, formed a human chain outside the town of Beit Hanun, about six kilometers from the border. The protesters were to supposed to run the length of the 40 kilometer-long Gaza Strip, from the Rafah border to the Erez crossing. The crowd hoisted banners in English and Arabic, saying "End the siege of Gaza now," and "Your siege will not break our will". After the protest ended, some 2,000 Hamas loyalists marched to a checkpoint several kilometers away from Erez. However, Hamas police blocked the main road leading to the Erez checkpoint and called on loyalists to obey the law. About 50 youths briefly approached Erez and threw stones and burned tires near the crossing, witnesses said. The army said border police fired in the air and dispersed the crowd. All photos by Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye.

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