LOC20:57
17:57 GMT
GAZA, Nov 16 (KUNA) -- At least 40 Palestinians have been injured by the Israeli fire during their participation in the Great March of Return protests, Palestinian Health Ministry said on Friday.
Some 18 protesters were wounded by live bullets, five by the rubber-coated steel bullets and 17 others by shrapnel, the ministry's spokesman Ashraf Al-Qedra added in a statement.
Three of the wounded are in critical conditions and were taken to hospitals for treatment, he noted.
Thousands of Palestinians took part in the march of return protests today along the eastern border of the besieged Gaza Strip.
They stressed that they would continue their popular marches until the 12-year siege imposed by Israel on the Strip is lifted.
The Israeli army opened fire on the protesters to disperse and suppress them, injuring scores of them.
The army warned in an earlier statement the Palestinian protesters against approaching the border. It said those who come closer to the border jeopardize their lives.
In a related development, the Higher National Commission of the Great March of Return called on Palestinians to partake in the 35th Friday protest.
It expressed its sympathy with people whose houses and properties were bombarded by the Israeli army.
The committee said, in a news conference, that normalization with Israel is a crime and a betrayal.
It revealed that there are ongoing contacts with some Arab parties to hold anti-normalization conferences in some Arab capitals and support the Palestinian people.
Palestinians have been staging the march of return protests since March 30, calling for the lifting of the blockade on the Strip.
More than 200 Palestinians were martyred and at least 20,000 others were wounded in the marches staged on Fridays. (end)
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