Protesters stage sit-in on Golan Heights

Thousands of Syrian and Palestinian protesters are staging an open-ended sit-in in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after Israeli forces killed dozens along the Syrian border.

Israeli forces opened fire on Sunday as pro-Palestinian protesters from Syria approached the occupied territories, killing at least 23 people, including a woman and a child, and injuring 350 others, according to the Syrian TV.

The killing spree came after hundreds of protesters flocked to Golan border to mark the 44th anniversary of the ‘Naksa Day’ marking Israel’s seizure of their lands in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the Six Day War of 1967.

Meanwhile, the TV reports stated that thousands of people are heading to the Quneitra border area to take part in an open-ended sit-in on Syrian Golan Heights.

Israeli troops have been beefed up near Syria and Lebanon as well as in al-Quds. Thousands of Israeli security forces were also on high alert on ‘Naksa Day’ to counter possible unrest.

The events came exactly three weeks after tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon and Syria, marked Nakba (catastrophe) Day on May 15.

On May 15, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians who marched to the border areas with Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.