Friday's anti-Israeli Al-Quds Day demonstrations turned violent along the Gaza border, as Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinian protesters.

More than 600 Palestinians were reportedly wounded as protesters came under Israeli gunfire as they headed to the Gaza fence. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least four Palestinians were killed, including a 15-year-old.

The demonstrations in Gaza were organized by Hamas, the Islamic militant group ruling the blockaded Palestinian enclave. Gaza residents were urged to head to the perimeter fence on the Israeli border after noon prayers. The call was issued through mosques and loudspeakers mounted on cars that toured Gaza neighborhoods.

Read more: Israel erecting sea barrier to prevent Gaza infiltrators

Several protesting Palestinians also donned uniforms similar to those worn by Jewish prisoners in World War Two. Ahmed Abu Artima told the AP news agency: "We want to remind the world that the Israeli occupation is committing the same massacres that the Nazis committed."

Denying, trivializing or mocking the Holocaust is not uncommon in the Muslim world.

Demonstrators burned US and Israeli flags during Al-Quds Day protests in Tehran

The UN General Assembly on Friday announced it will hold an emergency meeting next Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. (19:00 GMT) to vote on an Arab-backed resolution on Gaza, according to a letter from the body's president Miroslav Lajcak to the 193 member states.

A number of Arab and Muslim countries had called for the session after the United States vetoed a resolution condemning Israel at the UN Security Council last week.

Al-Quds Day protests

The annual Al-Quds Day demonstrations see hundreds of thousands of people across the Middle East protest Israeli control of Jerusalem. Marches were also held in several other Middle East cities, including Damascus, Tehran and Baghdad.

Al-Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem. Protests have been held every year since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as a day to demonstrate the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims.

Read more: What is Iran's Revolutionary Guard?

This year's protests come at a particularly sensitive time. US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and relocate the US embassy prompted mass unrest across the Muslim world. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam, after the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina. Palestinians see the eastern part of the city as the capital of their future state.

Since late March, Palestinians have held regular marches up to the border fence separating Gaza and Israel. At least 115 protesters have been killed by Israeli soldiers during the marches, and a further 3,800 have been wounded. Despite drawing widespread international criticism, Israel has defended its decision to open fire on protesters, saying it has a right to defend its border.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Palestinian PM Rami Hamdallah targeted The convoy of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah of the West Bank-based Fatah group was targeted as he made a rare visit to Gaza on March 13. The Palestinian Authority said it held Hamas responsible, having failed to provide adequate security. Hamas claimed the attack was aimed at hurting efforts to achieve unity and reconciliation.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Land Day march Some 30,000 Palestinians took part in the first of the demonstrations on March 30, marking Land Day, named for the 1976 Arab protests against Israeli plans to expropriate land. Some demonstrators ran at the border fence and 16 were killed by Israeli troops with others injured, and some dying later.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Netanyahu: 'We will hurt them' Speaking on April 9 in the Israeli town of Sderot, near Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him. We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Protesters injured Palestinians ran to help a young man injured during the border protest on April 13. Stones had been thrown at border guards and the Israeli troops fired on the demonstrators. Some 45 Palestinians died and hundreds were injured between March 30 and April 27.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Boy killed on April 20 Protest continued on April 20th, with some Palestinian protesters using kites to transport Molotov cocktails and firebombs over the fence. Israeli snipers killed at least four more Palestinians on April 20th, including a 15-year-old boy. The UN Middle East envoy dubbed the killing "outrageous."

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year May 15: US Embassy officially moved to Jerusalem from Tel-Aviv US President Donald Trump's daugher Ivanka is part of the delegation that opened the new US Embassy in Jerusalem. The transfer of the embassy triggered a fresh wave of protests in which 62 people were killed. The deaths have considerably heightened tensions in the area.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year US no longer seen as partner in Middle East negotiations As the US celebrated its embassy move from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, Palestinian protests escalated. The events coincided with the 70th anniversary of the foundation of modern-day Israel, and Nakba Day, when Palestinians recall those who fled or were expelled as Israel was established.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year More than 60 people were killed in protests Palestinians carried away a protester injured on May 15th after demonstrations marking the 70th anniversary of Nakba.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Palestinian youths run from tear gas Hamas official Salah al-Bardaweel said on Palestinian television that all but 12 of the dead were members of Hamas. Mahmoud Abbas the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization is planning to pursue a war crimes complaint against Israel at the International Criminal Court.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Israeli airstrikes pound Hamas military targets in Gaza Following an increase in cross-border violence in mid-July, Israel pounded Hamas military targets in Gaza, while Palestinian militants fired more than 170 rockets and mortars into Israel. Two Palestinian boys, aged 15 and 16, were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to Gaza's health ministry. Three Israelis were injured after a rocket landed on a residential home in the Israeli city of Sderot.

How the Gaza protests against Israel escalated this year Israel temporarily closes its Kerem Shalom cargo crossing with the Gaza Strip Days later, Israel blocked all fuel and gas transfers through the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Gaza Strip for six days "in light of the continued terrorist attempts of Hamas." Israel's defense ministry said essential food and medicine deliveries would still get through. The crossing had been shuttered to commercial trade a week earlier.



Anti-Israeli protests in major Middle East cities

Al-Quds Day protests began early in Iran with nationwide marches, including a major rally outside of Tehran University. Crowds in the capital burned US and Israeli flags and chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." An effigy of US President Donald Trump was also hanged from a crane.

Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and openly backs anti-Israeli militant groups, including Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Read more: Could Germany act as mediator between Israel and Iran?

In Damascus, scores of Syrians and Palestinians marched from the Hamidyeh market in the old city to the Umayyad Mosque, waving Syrian and Palestinian flags. Syrian citizen Samah Abdullah told AP that the Jerusalem issue was a cause affecting all Muslims and that commemorating the day was a "motivation for us and for all Palestinians to restore the occupied land."

In Baghdad, Iran-backed Shiites held up posters of the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before going on to set an Israeli flag on fire.

In the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, Shiite and Sunni Muslims rallied together against Israel, burning Israeli and US flags, as well as a Trump effigy. Pakistan also does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has observed the Al-Quds Day since it began in 1979.

Watch video 26:01 Share Michael Oren on Conflict Zone Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2yDNf Michael Oren on Conflict Zone

dm/kms (AP, dpa, AFP)

DW editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.