From the Deir Yassin massacre in April l948 to the Great March of Return in 20l8, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in pursuit of a normal life. Throughout these years, since the creation of Israel in l948, violence has been a permanent feature of life in the Palestinian territories which are shrinking by the day thanks to Israel's expansionist plans. The March of Return includes a series of border protests demanding that the Palestinians who fled the country, or were expelled since the creation of Israel in l948, be allowed to return to their homeland. And the peaceful marches are planned to continue for six weeks until the inauguration of the new US embassy in Jerusalem on May l4 which also marks the anniversary of the Nakba i.e the establishment of Israel. The Palestinians have gone through all forms of hardship but they have always shown determination and lack of fear in face of Israeli oppression and intimidation. The failure of US-led peace talks and Israel's procrastination regarding a two-state solution have made the Palestinians all the more aware that it is the people not governments that have to effect a change. The scene on the Gaza border with Israel in the past few days illustrates this. The Palestinians have set up five major tents along the frontier for families, including women and children, to stay in until the end of the march. On the other side of the border Israel has deployed military reinforcements, with more than l00 snipers of the Special Forces ready to shoot anyone who approaches the border fence. And so far 30 Palestinians have been shot dead and more than 2,500 injured. Israeli forces are using live fire and rubber bullets against unarmed protesters in a show of disproportionate force. And as usual the US has provided protection for the perpetrators of the massacre by making sure to prevent a UN condemnation despite the international community's denouncement of Israel's excessive use of violence. Next Friday more martyrs are expected to fall because the Palestinians will not give in to attempts to break their spirit of resistance. They know that the confrontation is inevitable and they are ready to pay with more lives for their just cause. Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital has set the occupied land on fire. The chances for peace are becoming ever more elusive and the faint reaction of the Arab world towards these new developments is not helping to make a breakthrough. So the ordinary Palestinian citizens of Gaza and the West Bank are risking their lives because in fact they face death at the hands of their oppressors every day and they know they have no one else to count on.
