Palestinian young man, Bashar al-Daya, was painting during an anti-Israeli protest along the Gaza-Israel border on April 6, 2018. (Xinhua photo)
GAZA, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Amid the heavy black smokes of burnt car tires and the buzzing sounds of of bullets, Bashar al-Daya, a Palestinian young man, was busy painting a map of Palestine during an anti-Israeli protest along the Gaza-Israel border.
The 18-year-old painted the Palestinian map on a black piece of cloth framed on a two-meter-long wooden stand.
"The painting also includes the return key which is a symbol of Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes," al-Daya told Xinhua while drawing.
Since early Friday morning, hundreds of Palestinians arrived in the Gaza-Israel border area to join the "Great March of Return" for the second week.
Eight Palestinians were killed and 1,070 others injured during the daylong of bloody confrontations between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers.
In a very emotional scene, dozens of protesters surrounded al-Daya as he drew the painting, showing appreciation of his art which he believes can be used as a way to show Palestine's resistance to the Israeli occupation.
"I'm here to deliver a message that we can resist Israel with our creativity and art, not only with stones and clashes," al-Daya told Xinhua as he put the final touches on his painting.
As crowds around him shouted slogans calling for freedom and the return of refugees, al-Daya said peaceful protestors gathered at the rally to tell the whole world that the Israeli occupation must end and the refugees must return to their homes.
Palestinian young man, Bashar al-Daya, was painting during an anti-Israeli protest along the Gaza-Israel border on April 6, 2018. (Xinhua photo)
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.
The rally, known as the "Great March of Return," 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.
The march is expected to peak on May 15, when Palestinians mark the Nakba Day, the day of their catastrophe, which coincides Israel's 70th Independence Day.
Palestinians believe that the mass protest is a strong message to the world that the issue of the Palestinian refugees has not been resolved yet.
"I will keep coming to the protest and do my paintings here...I hope all artists and people with talents would come here and do what I'm doing," al-Daya said.
