Hundreds of protesters came under fire as they advanced towards the fenced
ceasefire line separating undisputed Syrian territory from the Golan
Heights, occupied by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967.
The march, led by refugees intent on reclaiming their homes lost to Israel in
an earlier war in 1948, was the second of its kind in just over three weeks.
Four protesters were killed last month after they breached the border fence.
The protesters, who waved Palestinian flags and occasionally threw stones, did
not get as close on Sunday, although some did cut their way into a buffer
zone on the Syrian side of the fence.
As they approached, to cheers from Syrian citizens watching from rooftops in
the Golan Heights, Israeli troops broadcast warning messages through
loudhailers, saying: "Anyone who comes close to the fence will be
responsible for their own blood. Anyone who tries to cross the border will
be killed."
Israeli
officials said at least 12 protesters were wounded when soldiers shot at
their legs, but would not confirm reports from Syrian doctors and on state
television in Damascus that 20 had been killed.
Protesters said they were hoping to emulate Hassan Hijazi, who managed to
reach his former home in the Israeli coastal city of Jaffa after the last
protest before turning himself into the police.
"We want on this occasion to remind America and the whole world that we
have a right to return to our country," said Mohammed Hasan, a
16-year-old refugee wounded in both feet.
Syrian television said Syrian and Palestinian protesters at the border decided
to stage an open-ended sit-in. Thousands of people were travelling to the
Quneitra border area to take part on Sunday night.
