GAZA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians are preparing on Sunday for escalating popular protests on Monday in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The Palestinian protests on Monday will coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, one day before the Palestinians' Nakba Day, or "Day of Catastrophe."
The event is also held to protest over U.S. relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem which U.S. President Donald Trump recognized as the capital of Israel last December.
The national commission of the protests in Gaza called for the largest-ever mass rallies, dubbed "the day of passage," in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.
On Sunday afternoon, traffic across Gaza stopped for five minutes to announce the start of the largest activities in the six-week marches, which began on March 30 and are scheduled to end on May 15.
"Monday will be a historic day in the popular marches," said the national commission in a press statement.
It also called on people in the Gaza Strip to organize a Palestinian march of one million participants to defy Israel's 12-year blockade imposed on the coastal enclave.
The commission stressed the popular and peaceful essence of the marches, and the Palestinians "will not retreat from achieving their goals of return and defying the siege."
It called on the Gaza residents to be committed to the announced measures including closing public institutions, universities as well as other daily services, and heading to the border in eastern Gaza.
Meanwhile, Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday called on the population to join the largest-ever rallies and marches organized in eastern Gaza on Monday.
Since March 30, the Palestinians have been taking part in a series of protests, demonstrations and rallies, known as "the Great March of Return."
They erected tents and carried out various activities in eastern Gaza close to the border with Israel, and have constantly clashed with the Israeli border security forces.
Gaza Health Ministry said in an official statement that 49 Palestinians have been killed and more than 8,000 others injured under Israeli army's gunfire since the beginning of the marches.
The ministry announced that it has entered a state of emergency as all the hospitals and medical centers, as well as the medical tents built along the border between eastern Gaza and Israel, are on high alert.
Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza announced that it was fully prepared to receive the protesters in eastern Gaza, stressing that the security forces in Gaza are also on high alert.
On Sunday, a senior Hamas delegation, headed by the movement's politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, returned to Gaza after paying a brief visit to Cairo, during which the delegation held talks with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials over the current situation in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army threw leaflets in eastern Gaza, warning the Palestinians against getting close to the fence of the border on Monday and Tuesday.
The flyers, written in Arabic, read "in the past days, Hamas movement terrorists carried out violence and terror activities against Israel along its border with Gaza."
"Hamas is covering up its failure and putting you at risk ... You deserve a better government and a better future. The Israeli army warns you against approaching the fence of the border," read the leaflet.
