Arab League to hold emergency meeting on Palestine

The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday on Israeli deadly attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, league official said Monday.

Saeed Abu Ali, assistant secretary-general for Palestine and the occupied Arab territories of the League States, said Saudi Arabia would chair the representative-level meeting that would be held at the request of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestine urged the Arab League on Sunday to hold the meeting because of "Israeli crimes against Land Marches", that nation's ambassador to Cairo told Anadolu Agency.

Diab al-Louh said his country submitted a memorandum to the Arab League to hold the meeting at the level of permanent representatives because of Israel's crimes and deadly force against peaceful demonstrators during Land Day protests Friday.

The Arab League said it closely followed developments that resulted in 17 Palestinians being martyred at the Gaza border. The group also demanded the international community fulfill its responsibility to stop Israeli violations and establish an inquiry commission. In addition to the martyrs, the attacks injured nearly 1,500 victims.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators converged Friday on the Gaza Strip's 45-kilometer-long (28-mile) eastern border with Israel to demand their right to return to their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.

In anticipation of the mass demonstrations, Israel deployed thousands of troops along the border.

Dubbed the "Great March of Return," the protests also intended to pressure Israel to lift its more than decade-long blockade of Gaza.