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Palestinians Demonstrate to Mark Israeli Annexation of Jerusalem
About 3,000 Palestinians on Thursday staged a demonstration in the Gaza Strip to mark the 34th anniversary of Israel's annexation of Jerusalem.
The demonstrators marched from the Palestine Square in the center of Gaza and crossed the main streets to Almentar area in eastern Gaza before dispersing peacefully.
Representatives from 13 Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Islamic Jihad and Fatah Movement led by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat also took part in the demonstration.
The demonstrators voiced the continuation of uprising against Israeli occupation and the rejection of the U.S.' pressures on the Palestinian National Authority.
They raised Palestinian flags, photos of Arafat and martyrs in the uprising against Israel, and big banners with signs "Jerusalem is our eternal city, occupiers should withdraw from our lands."
Ismail Haniya, one of Hamas leaders who joined the demonstration, told reporters that "the aim of the demonstration is to tell the whole world that Jerusalem is the capital of the (future) Palestinian state."
He also stressed that "the Palestinian people are united and insist on continuing the uprising and struggle until the liberation of Palestine and restoration of all occupied territories."
Israel occupied Jerusalem and annexed it in the 1967 Mideast War.
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