2011 Israeli border demonstrations

Starting on 15 May 2011 there have been several protests on Israel's borders. On 15 May, Nakba day, there were protests attempted on the borders with Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan, although in Egypt and Jordan the internal security forces prevented protestors reaching the border. A dozen protestors were shot in the incident. On 5 June 2011 there were further protests on the border with Syria and 20 protestors were shot. Although according to Israeli sources these figures were exaggerated.

15 May (Nakba Day)

Main article: 2011 Nakba Day § Border demonstrations

Inspired by the uprisings and revolutions taking place in the Arab world, Palestinians used Facebook to call for mass protests throughout the region on 15 May 2011 Nakba Day. A page calling for a "Third Palestinian Intifada" to begin on May 15 garnered more than 350,000 "likes" before being taken down by Facebook managers at the end of March after complaints from the Israeli government that the page encouraged violence. The page called for mass marches to Palestine from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan to commemorate the Nakba and demand the right of return for all Palestinian refugees.

Ägypten

On Saturday 14 May, thousands were planning to make their way toward the Rafah crossing with Gaza in convoys set to depart from Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Damietta, North Sinai. Gharbiya, Beni Suef, Assiut, Qena and Sohag. However, an order from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces to tourism companies not to send buses to the convoy organizers left them without sufficient transportation and the few buses they did manage to procure were stopped by the army. The blockage of access by Egyptian forces to the Sinai Peninsula, meant that only about 80 activists managed to reach the border with Rafah.

Jordanien

In Jordan, 200 Palestinian students attempted to march towards the Israeli border, but were restrained by Jordanian security forces resulting in the injury of six people. They were part of a larger group of 500 who were stopped at the Allenby Bridge. Jordanian authorities said a total of 25 people were injured, including 11 police officers. The political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, condemned police actions which they described as "shocking" stating: "We condemn the attack, which is part of government policies to impose its will on the people, and we demand an end to such policies that have harmed Jordan's image."

Libanon

In Lebanon, activists had organized an event on a mountaintop in the village of Maroun al-Ras that overlooks the border with Israel. Some 30,000 people, including Palestinian refugees from various Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon attended. After walking up the mountain to the protest site, many decided to descend the opposite side, and continued on towards the border. Lebanese Army soldiers fired into the air in a failed effort to deter them. Crossing through a minefield that was laid by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War, they reached the border fence, and threw stones over it, chanting for their right of return. Eleven Palestinian refugees were killed and 100 injured by gunfire before the protesters retreated. Media reported that the protesters were shot by the IDF. The IDF said most of those killed were likely shot by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and that they had a video that established this, but would not release it on the grounds that it might cause embarrassment to the Lebanese Army.

Syria

In Syria, the demonstrations were organized by phone and internet by Palestinian refugees, most of them university students independent of any political faction, in response to the call for a "Third Palestinian Intifada" on Facebook. Demonstrators gathered near the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire line waving Palestinian flags, and then marched toward and breached the fence, entering the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The first wave of demonstrators to move toward the fence were stopped by Syrian police who were later overtaken when a second group arrived. The sole Israeli patrol present was similarly overwhelmed and opened fire on the demonstrators. Four demonstrators were killed and dozens injured. The dead were Palestinian refugees: Qais Abu Alheija from Houd, Bashar Ali Shahabi from Lubya, Samer Khartabeel from Tiberias, and Abadah Zaghmout from Safsaf.

The Israeli military stated that it only fired warning shots when about 1,000 demonstrators approached the fence, and some 300 children among them, rushed toward the fence. More than a hundred managed to bypass the fence and enter the Arab Druze town of Majdal Shams. About a dozen members of Israel's security forces were injured in clashes in Majdal Shams. Two demonstrators were arrested and detained, but were returned to Syria.

5 June

See also: Naksa Day

On 5 June 2011 Palestinian and Syrian protesters moved towards the Golan Heights border with Syria. According to the Syrian media, 23 people were killed and 350 people were injured by Israeli snipers when they attempted to cross the border. Among the dead was also reportedly an unarmed 12-year old boy. However, according to Israeli officials these figures were exaggerated. The New York Times claimed, based on official Syrian estimates, that this clash produced the greatest loss of life in the Golan since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The Israeli forces were under orders to prevent the protesters from crossing the border. Although no protesters managed to cross the border, the protesters claimed the protests were successful as Israeli troops had opened fire on unarmed protesters. In response the US State Department said that it was "troubled" by the loss of life, but Israel has the right to defend its sovereign borders. In the aftermath, thousands began a sit-in near Golan, resulting in the Syrian government creating a security buffer zone for humanitarian purposes.

While Lebanon had banned activists from approaching the border, Palestinian demonstrators once again rushed the Syrian border with Israel near Quneitra and Majdal Shams. Earlier that morning, Palestinians from the suburbs of Damascus were reportedly bussed into the area and massed the border without interference from Syrian troops.

Clashes between Palestinians broke out at a funeral for the dead in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. A group of mourners accused the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who organized the Naksa day protest, of inciting young people to put themselves in the firing line; slogans were chanted against the leaders attending the funeral and attempts were made to damage their vehicles. There were also reports of gunfire, and the PFLP headquarters in the camp was burnt down.