The demonstrators waved the flag of Palestine and shouted with slogans for the restoration of national unity and chanted "People want to end division!"
Hisham Dwaikat, one of the coordinators of the “March 15 Youth Movement” told Arab News that they will set up tents in Ramallah’s Al-Manara square “to pressure Fatah and Hamas to end their internal split.”
Dwaikat added that the organized that rallies in West Bank and Gaza Strip “for the sake of restoring unity on the way towards liberation.”
He added that the campaign to forge Palestinian unity was launched several weeks ago by youth groups on Facebook and other social networking sites.
In contrast to the protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, the Palestinian campaign does not seek to overthrow the current leaderships in Gaza and the West Bank, but rather to bring them together, Dwaikat stressed.
Majdal Najem, another coordinator, said that the Palestinian youth “are reaching our goals by mobilizing people to support the end of the split and achieve reconciliation.”
She added that the campaign picked up momentum, attracting various Palestinian political factions which called on their loyalists to join the rallies.
In Gaza, some 10,000 Palestinians attended the rally at the Unknown Soldiers Square.
The participants were also waving the Palestinian flag until supporters of Hamas movement arrived at the area and waved Hamas’ own green flags. The Hamas supporters also brought massive loudspeakers to chant slogans in favor of Hamas’ vision for the end of the split.
As a result, the original protest organizers turned the slogan to: “People want to drop flags!” in reference to Hamas’ attempts to hijack the protest for its own.
The Hamas government of Gaza deployed dozens of policemen on the streets to control traffic and facilitate the flow of people to the sites of protests.
The West Bank-based official Palestinian television and radio, private Palestinian televisions and international media outlets dedicated hours to cover the ongoing protests.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces bolstered their presence in the West Bank “to be prepared for any eventuality” during and after the mass rallies.
Israeli security sources said that the army fears that the rallies could potentially lead to a mass outbreak of violence in Palestinian territories.
The sources added that army has established rapid-response teams designated to deal with mass unrest and instructed commanders to mentally prepare their troops to deal with scenarios.
(With input from Hisham Abu Taha)
