Protests erupt in West Bank over killing of journalist

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Dozens of Palestinian journalists on Saturday staged several protests in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to protest the killing of a journalist in Gaza by the Israeli army.

"These rallies are a unified message from all journalists, whether in Gaza, or West bank, we will continue to cover the crimes of the occupation despite all of its violence and oppression," Mar Nazzal, a member of the general secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, told Anadolu Agency.

“We also believe that the day will come when the killers of journalists will be brought to international courts," he said.

Earlier today, hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, laid to rest 30-year-old Yasser Mortaja, who was shot by Israeli forces on Friday, while he was covering the "return" march, near the eastern border of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The funeral was attended by Ismaiel Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, several officials and dozens of journalists.

According to witnesses, Mortaja was shot in the abdomen by the Israeli military while wearing a clearly marked press jacket.

Since Friday morning, thousands of Palestinians have converged on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel to take part in ongoing anti-occupation demonstrations.

Mortaja, who worked as a filmmaker, took part in the production of a series of documentaries that were broadcast through Arab and foreign media about the situation in the Gaza Strip.

At least 31 Palestinians have been martyred by the Israeli forces since March 30, when the peaceful demonstrations erupted, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The rallies are part of a six-week demonstration that will culminate on May 15, which will mark the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment -- an event Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe".

Demonstrators demand that Palestinian refugees be granted the “right of return” to their towns and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to the story from Ankara