Quds Day: Israeli Military Barricades Gaza, Drops Warning Leaflets

Gaza: Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas political bureau, said Thursday that Palestinian protesters will "bring down the walls" surrounding the Strip during Quds Day demonstrations on Friday.

"We shall continue to knock on the doors of this huge prison, and we shall eventually bring down its walls," Haniyeh said.

Palestinian organizers are claiming that "Quds Day" on Friday will see a million people turn out to protest Israel, including in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, the Israeli military dropped flyers across Gaza warning residents to stay away from the border and not take part in the protests.

The Israel Defense Forces have moved reinforcement infantry battalions to the Gaza Division ahead of the expected mass protests, Israeli media reported.

An unnamed Israeli army officer quoted by Times of Israel, said the military was working to limit the number of Palestinian deaths, but was prepared for a similar death toll as on May 14. 

Sixty Palestinian protesters were killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire during May 14 protests.

Palestinian media have predicted that large numbers will protest at the Gaza border on Friday.

Annual Quds Day falls on last Friday of Ramadan. This year, annual events are planned in London and Toronto as well as in 800 cities worldwide.Quds Day has become a larger rallying cry this year as it comes after months of mass protests in Gaza. 

Protests are also sweeping social media with a hashtag "QudsDay4return" trending on twitter. 

A poster put up by organizers and posted by Palestinian journalist Nasser Atta on Twitter, says that on Friday, June 8, "Palestinian factions declared a million-man march." In Ramallah, a large billboard devoted to Quds Day has also been erected. "Palestinian disappointment with the so-called 'Arab moderate camp' which is now in alliance with the Trump and normalizing with Israel, are gearing up to celebrate Quds Day declared by the late Imam Khomeini," Atta noted.

Speaking live to a rally in Gaza on the eve of Quds day a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said years of Palestinian resistance have weakened Israel and put the occupation force on the back foot, paving the way for great victories against the Tel Aviv regime.

Ali Akbar Velayati said that 40 years after Imam Khomeini's declaration of Ramadan's last Friday as the International Quds Day, Palestinians have been able to push back Israeli occupation forces and "reverse the regime's expansionism."

"Although the past 40 years have had its own ups and downs, magnificent victories have been achieved such as the liberation of southern Lebanon, the liberation of Gaza and Israel's constant defeats in wars of aggression against resistance forces in Gaza and Lebanon," Velayati said.

The veteran Iranian diplomat noted that the Tel Aviv regime came into existence due to "treacherous" deeds by the UK and other Western nations 70 years ago, an event Palestinians refer to as Nakba, or literally "the disaster."

"Nakba is not a disaster bound to a certain period of time," Velayati said. "It's an ongoing disaster that we live each second."

Velayati said the "sad" status quo in the Muslim world, where some Islamic governments are "secretly" supporting Israeli crimes, has emboldened US President Donald Trump to speak of a so-called "deal of century" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ayatollah Khamenei's adviser concluded his remarks by calling on all Muslims to set aside their differences and join forces to free al-Quds.

"Quds is the symbol of Palestine; Quds is the symbol of all that is holy to Muslim nations; the highest symbol of unity that can bring together all Muslims from all sects and ideologies," he said, noting that Islamic unity revolves around "Quds' liberation."