Palestinians have advantage by continuing protests

By Nour Mahd Ali Abu Aisha and Gulsen Topcu

GAZA CITY, Palestine

By continuing demonstrations in spite of deadly attacks by Israeli forces Friday, Palestinians are the “winning party” as attention on their issue increases, observers tell Anadolu Agency.

Experts said the Palestinian cause was raised once again and stronger for a global public when Israeli soldiers opened fire on defenseless civilians -- a “huge gain” for Palestinians.

Writer and political analyst Akram Atallah told Anadolu Agency the most important advantage from the protests for Palestinians is the focus on their issue.

“[Friday,] the Palestinians were defenseless, nevertheless they were targets of the bullets. This revealed Israel's tyranny and put it in a position to be condemned in front of the world,” he said.

Atallah said Palestinians succeeded in attracting regional and international support to the issue through peaceful demonstrations and changed the “unconfirmed” perception of Israelis owning Palestinian land 3,000 years ago. And demonstrators confirmed the narrative that Palestinians want to return to their homes from where they were deported by Israel 70 years ago.

Political analyst Talal Ukel, believes Palestinians came out ahead although lives were lost Friday.

"The Palestinians are strategically lucrative because they have been able to get the Land Day activities out of the Gaza border,” he said. “Palestinians have made the regional and international media interested in the Palestinian issue again.”

An important point, he said, is that pressure is now on the Israelis and they do not know how to deal with Palestinians.

“They [Palestinians] have given Israel the message that the social explosion will be towards Israel if they continue the blockade on Gaza,” he said.

Palestinians were united under a single roof Friday after 11 years of political fragmentation, according to analyst Mushir Amir.

"These demonstrations are a new form of resistance and have accelerated the Palestinian issue," he said.

Amir believed the peaceful demonstrations could also change the silent stance of the international community and could end the Israel advocacy.

"After the failure of peace negotiations, peaceful demonstrations could become an agenda for this period, which will tear and wear Israel because it will be condemned by the international community for using excessive force against defenseless people," he said.

At least 15 Gazans were martyred and hundreds injured when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters marking Land Day, an annual Palestinian commemoration of the deaths of six Arab Israeli citizens killed by Israeli forces in 1976, during demonstrations against government land confiscations in northern Israel.

The rallies were the start of a six-week protest that culminates May 15 -- the day Palestinians call Nakba, or Catastrophe, when Israel was founded.

Demonstrators are demanding Palestinian refugees be allowed the right of return to towns and villages which their families fled, or were driven out of, when the state of Israel was created in 1948.