Hamas plans to mobilize large turnout for Gaza border protests next week

A Hamas official said Friday the militant group hopes to mobilize a large turnout for next week’s Gaza border protests, the highlight of a campaign to break a decade-old blockade of the territory. “There are many tools” to encourage participation, including making phone calls and offering more bus shuttles, AP quoted Ghazi Hamad as saying Tuesday. Weekly border protests began March 30 and are to culminate in two days of mass demonstrations next week. One, on Tuesday, marks the uprooting of Palestinians during the 1948 war over Israel’s creation. Forty protesters have been killed by Israeli fire. Hamad said protests will continue “as a long-term strategy,” saying it is “less expensive” than going into a military confrontation with Israel.