GAZA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- In the border area between the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Israel, a Palestinian professor is holding lectures in a tent city as part of an anti-Israel six-week rally.
Ghassan Wishah, a professor of history with the Islamic University in Gaza, decided to give lectures on the rally organized to demand the return of Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their cities during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948.
A total of 19 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,200 injured in clashes with Israeli army since the mass protest was launched last Friday.
The rally is considered Gaza's largest mass protest in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as tens of thousands of Palestinians gather near the Gaza-Israel border on a daily basis.
A few hundred meters away from the border fence between Gaza and Israel, Wishah told his students how thousands of their ancestors were obliged to leave their cities and towns which later became part of Israel.
In his lecture, Wishah emphasized the need to implement the UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which states that Palestinian refugees return to their lands and get compensated.
"Only this fence separates you from your hometown and cities, you see history with you own eyes," he said.
The professor believes holding such lectures at such a place is very important for the young generations who should understand the reality of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"Nothing is more valuable than telling the truth about our cause. This is the right place to tell our students about the crisis of the Palestinian refugees and the seizure of their lands," Wishah told Xinhua.
The mass protest, known as the "Great March of Return," is a very creative idea and a strong message to the world that the issue of the Palestinian refugees has not been resolved yet.
The Palestinian refugees' struggle to return home has been one of the key and thorniest issues in the final status negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.
Wishah said his students liked the idea to give lectures at the border, expressing hope that all his colleagues could do the same.
The Palestinian rally is expected to peak on May 15, the day Israel celebrates its establishment, while the Palestinians mark it as "Day of Catastrophe" because a large number of them have been forced to leave their homes.
This Friday, Palestinian protesters are prepared to set fire to countless car tires near the borderline during the anti-Israel demonstrations.
Activists say burning tires is meant to use their smoke to block the vision of Israeli soldiers stationed along the borders in order to reduce casualties during the protests.
