The Israeli occupation authorities have decided to ban the entry of car tires into the Gaza Strip until further notice.
Raed Fattouh head of a Palestinian Authority committee responsible for coordinating the entry of goods into Gaza said in statements on Friday that the Israeli authorities informed them that they had decided to block the entry of all types of tires into Gaza until further notice.
This move came in response to the “Friday of Burned Tires” protests in Gaza during which Palestinian youths set dozens of tires on fire to block the view of Israeli snipers stationed behind Gaza’s eastern border fence to shoot and kill unarmed protesters.
Burning tires is an old form of Palestinian popular resistance that first emerged during the First Palestinian Intifada in 1987.
At least 29 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the launch of the Great March of Return on 30th March along Gaza’s border with the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories in demand of Palestinian refugees’ right of return.
After the Israeli soldiers killed 17 peaceful demonstrators on the first Friday of the Great March of Return protesters started to think of simple methods that would minimize the number of casualties by blocking the Israeli snipers’ view so they decided to burn dozens of tires near the border.
A youth campaign has been launched since last Sunday in Gaza to collect tires of all sizes and types and transfer them to the border areas where protests take place.
