Israel reopens Gaza commercial crossing in sign of easing tensions

Israel reopened its commercial crossing with the Gaza Strip on Sunday but kept military reinforcements deployed on the volatile frontier, a day after a smaller than expected Palestinian protest along the border.

Trucks carrying food and fuel rolled into Gaza through the reopened Kerem Shalom crossing despite small skirmishes overnight. No injuries were reported on either side of the border.

Gaza medical officials said four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations on Saturday marking the first anniversary of the “Great March of Return” protests.

Almost 270 Gazans have been killed by Israeli troops since the protests started on March 30 last year, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures. An Israeli soldier was also killed by a Palestinian sniper in July.

But while around 40,000 protesters turned out on Saturday, according to the Israeli military figures, several signs pointed to pullback from wider confrontation amid Egyptian efforts to reach a long-term ceasefire that would also ease blockaded Gaza’s economic plight.

Demonstrators demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel. They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

In Pictures: Land Day in Gaza

In the run-up to Saturday’s rallies, the Israeli army has deployed numerous tanks and armored vehicles along the buffer zone with the Gaza Strip. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly instructed the army to prepare for the possibility of a “broad” campaign in Gaza.

An Israeli military spokesman noted that there had been “significantly less violence” during Saturday’s protest, which organisers had billed a “million person march”, than in past weekly demonstrations.

In addition, hundreds of Palestinian men, some from Gaza’s ruling Hamas group, were deployed in bright orange vests to deter people from going near Israel’s border fence, a frequent flashpoint.

A Hamas official said Egyptian mediators were expected to hold talks in Israel to try to finalise a deal.

Israel, which considers Hamas to be a terrorist group, has maintained an official silence about any pending agreement, a week before a closely contested election in which rocket strikes from Gaza on Israeli border towns have become a main issue.

Opinion: Today’s Great March of Return is a turning point in Palestinian collective memory