Hamas leaders celebrate at Gaza protests: We'll never wave white flag, Palestine is from the river to the sea
Senior members of the Hamas delegation that arrived in Gaza on Thursday to discuss a ceasefire agreement with Israel, took part in the weekly (Friday) clashes along the Gaza border.
Among those who participated in the demonstrations several high-profile figures had been noticed:
Deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri (who has not visited Gaza in years), Qatar-based Hamas spokesman Husan Badran, Hamas leaders Mousa Abu Marzouk and Izzet al-Rishak. Hamas leaders in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar and his deputy Khalil al-Hayya, were present as well.
Maher Obeid, who replaced Saleh al-Arouri as the head of Hamas's 'West Bank Headquarters'-a person in charge of Hamas' terror activity in the West Bank, also attended the protests.
Musa Dodin, who is in charge of the issue of Hamas prisoners in Israel, also took part in the demonstrations.
Several Hamas members made impassioned speech during the proceedings, vowing never to surrender to Israel.
"The people of Gaza, those who protect our nation ... We have come to walk among you, be with our people and our nation. We are proud to belong to this great nation," Badran said during a rally held east of Gaza City.
"The Palestinian people will never surrender or wave a white flag. Palestine, as we know it, is from the sea to the river. We want the blockade on Gaza to be lifted once and for all, and we will sacrifice everything necessary to protect our people."
During his speech, Badran held a picture of the 17-year-old terrorist Muhammed Yousef who stabbed to death Yotam Ovadia in the the community of Adam last week.
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The protests turned violent in several locations and one Palestinian man is reported to have been killed in clashes between the rioters and the IDF, east of Gaza City.
Throughout the day, several clashes erupted along the border between Palestinian protesters and IDF forces. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that around 8,000 Palestinians ,took part in weekly border demonstrations.
Amid the riots, a group of Palestinian men breached the border fence with Israel and hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails before retreating back into the Gaza territory. In response, IDF forces shelled a Hamas outpost.
In addition, 26 fires broke out in the Gaza border communities as a result of incendiary balloons flown into Israel from the strip. Yesterday over a dozen fires broke out, again with no response by the IDF.
Video: Palestinians breaching the fence today during the border clashes