Holy Land: thousands form peaceful human chain against blockade

There were no significant incidents after a demonstration in Gaza was held yesterday to protest against eight-month long siege imposed by Israel. Thousands of men, women and children formed a human chain along a 40 km. long stretch of road, the Salah ad-din road, between Rafah and Beit Hanoun, five km. away from Israel itself. Some participants prayed. Others carried signs saying:"No to the Gaza Blockade". There was a moment of tension when a group of about 50 Palestinian youths threw rocks against the Eretz pass and Israeli soldiers shot in the air to disperse the crowds; nobody was wounded. In Israel itself, the authorities reinforced controls sending 6500 units to the border, in case people tried to cross the border as they did in Rafah last month. There was no such attempt: "this chain is peaceful and it wants to send a message of peace to the world; we believe that this is a basic right for a people under siege", said Jamal al Khudari, an independent representative close to Hamas, and one of the main organizers of the protest. Meanwhile, four militiamen were killed after two Israeli raids last night in eastern Gaza; Qassam "rockets" were fired from Gaza hitting several areas of the Negev, and wounding a 10 year-old Israeli boy. Source: MISNA