Israeli forces martyr five Palestinians in Gaza border protest

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces shot and martyred five Palestinians and wounded at least 50 during protests along the border with Gaza on Friday, Palestinian medical officials said. Palestinians have been protesting along the border since March 30, demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of the territory and the right to return to lands from which they fled or were driven when Israel was founded in 1948. Since the protests began, 212 Gazans have been martyred by Israeli troops, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper. Egyptian security officials have in the last two weeks been talking to Israeli leaders and officials of Hamas, which runs Gaza, and other factions in an attempt to restore calm along the border. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said protests would continue “until we achieve our goals, and foremost is ending the blockade of the Gaza Strip”. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a Palestinian protester died from a bullet wound, Palestinian medical officials said, after he was involved in a clash with Israeli troops in the village of Al-Mazraa Al-Gharbeya.