Israeli soldiers killed 15 Palestinians and wounded over 70 others during a protest on the Gaza-Israel border Friday.
The protest, called the "March of Return," was held on Land Day, the anniversary of when Israel expropriated Palestinian land in 1976. This protest now marks the most violent confrontation in the Gaza region since 2014.
The GroundTruth Project's Charlie Sennott called into Boston Public Radio Monday from Jerusalem. He says that the current wave of unrest in Gaza can be linked to the looming opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in May, following the Trump administration's move to recognize Jerusalemas the capital of Israel last December.
“They’re incredibly depressed,” Sennott said about the Palestinians. “They are almost despondent that the United States has made a decision to go against decades of diplomacy and foreign policy, and move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”
Sennott says that the Trump administration's decision to move the embassy has impacted the Palestinians' ability to negotiate, as they saw Jerusalem as a bargaining chip in their peace talks with Israel — a tactic they were saving for the final two state peace talks.
“Palestinians now wonder … what’s left on the bargaining table,” said Sennott. “Some of that desperation and some of that feeling of depression exploded into violence in Gaza.”
“It is always about land,” he added.
Charles Sennott is a WGBH News contributor and co-founder of the GroundTruth Project. To listen to his interview with Boston Public Radio in its entirety, click the audio player above.
