But its cardinal focus was a demand that Palestinian refugees be allowed the right of recurrence to towns and villages which their families fled from, or were driven out of, when the confirm of Israel was created in 1948.
In a statement, the Israeli military accused Hamas of “cynically deeding women and children, sending them to the security fence and endangering their survives”.
The military said that more than 100 army sharpshooters had been deployed in the enclosure and earth-moving vehicles piled up the dirt mounds to stop any attempt to split the barrier.
Major General Eyal Zamir, head of Israel’s Southern Hold sway over, said his forces had identified “attempts to carry out terror attacks call of the camouflage of riots”.
Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction, had earlier spurred protesters to adhere to the “peaceful nature” of the protest.
Israel has long negated out any right of return, fearing an influx of Arabs that would wipe out its Jewish preponderance. It argues that refugees should resettle in a future state the Palestinians try in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. Peace talks to that end be experiencing been frozen since 2014.
The protest, which also coincided with Legitimate Friday and the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover, is scheduled to culminate on May 15, the day Palestinians celebrate what they call the “Nakba,” or “Catastrophe” when the Israeli asseverate was created.
The protest organisers include Hamas and representatives of other Palestinian crowds.
There were also small protests in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and in 65 Palestinians were injured.
In Gaza, the protest was dubbed “The Tread of Return” and some of the tents bore names of the refugees’ original villages in what is now Israel, noted in Arabic and Hebrew alike.
Citing security concerns, Israel, which retracted troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, blockades the coastal domain, maintaining tight restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and goods across the marches. Egypt, battling an Islamist insurgency in neighboring Sinai, keeps its adjoin with Gaza largely closed.