Israel/Palestinian Territories: Protests along Gaza border from March 30

Event

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are planning to stage a six-week tent city protest along the Israeli-Gazan border beginning on Friday, March 30. Thousands of people may participate in the protests. A heightened Israeli security presence is expected along the border, as well as clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel.

Context

IDF soldiers often utilize tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition against Palestinian protesters participating in frequent demonstrations along the Israeli-Gazan border; Palestinian demonstrators, for their part, commonly throw rocks and Molotov cocktails at IDF personnel. "Land Day" is annually observed among Palestinians on March 30, the date on which the protest is slated to begin; it commemorates the deaths of six Arab-Israeli citizens, and the wounding and arrests of hundreds of others amid a general strike and widespread protests in 1976 over land confiscated by Israeli authorities. The protest is expected to end on May 15, when the Nakba ("catastrophe"; 1948 Palestinian exodus from the territory that became Israel) is annually commemorated.

Advice

Individuals in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are advised to monitor developments to the situation and to avoid all public demonstrations due to the risk of violence. All travelers, and Westerners in particular, are advised to maintain a low profile (do not discuss sensitive topics, do not stop to take photographs of demonstrations, etc.) and avoid unnecessary movements in the event of unrest.

More generally, due to the underlying terrorist threat, travelers in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and to remain vigilant when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, etc.). As a reminder, several Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Israeli-Lebanese, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Egyptian borders.