International News

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories, May 16 (AFP/APP):Weeks of mass protests and deadly violence on the Gaza-Israel border have put the Palestinian cause back on the global agenda, but questions remain over whether the impact will last.
More than 100 Palestinians were killed in seven weeks of protests, culminating in 60 dead on Monday, mainly from Israeli sniper fire, as tens of thousands rallied against the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem.
The violence overshadowed the embassy move, as television networks split their screens between US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka speaking at the inauguration and the carnage on the Gaza border.
Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass infiltrations from the Palestinian enclave, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.
Following unconfirmed reports of indirect contacts between Hamas and Israel, Tuesday proved far calmer — only a few thousand people gathered on the border, with only minor incidents reported.
Ramadan, the Muslim month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, was also poised to begin on Thursday, likely to keep people away from the protests.
Near the border on Tuesday evening, 26-year-old Mutassim Hajjaj showed off videos of himself seeking to breach the border fence the day before.
He said the protests had overshadowed the embassy move.
“That’s a victory. It’s a victory for us as the Palestinian people as it raised the issue of the right of return,” he said.
Hajjaj was referring to Palestinian demands to return to land they fled or were expelled from in 1948 during the war surrounding Israel’s creation.