Arab Israelis in Haifa protest over Gaza killings

Haifa, Israel — Hundreds of Arab Israelis demonstrated Saturday evening in Haifa in solidarity with Gaza, where more than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces in recent days, an AFP reporter said.

Protesters shouted "down with the occupation, stop fascism" and denounced the arrests on Friday of 19 people in the northern city during a previous rally held in solidarity with Gaza residents.

They waved four large letters in bright red, making up the word "Gaza" and chanted slogans, including "Jews and Arabs, we are not enemies".

A total of 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation gunfire on Monday, when thousands of Palestinians protested as the US officially moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after recognising the disputed city as the capital of Israel.

They were among 119 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel since mass demonstrations started on March 30, according to authorities in Gaza, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Israel insists its actions are necessary to defend the border and prevent infiltrations. 

Palestinian and Israeli sources on Sunday said a Palestinian prisoner had died of a heart attack whilst in Israeli custody.

Aziz Ewisat was serving a 30-year prison sentence since 2014 and had suffered a heart attack earlier this month, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said. 

Israeli prison authorities claimed he had heart failure after attacking a guard.

Israeli Arabs, the descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land when Israel was created in 1948, are around 17.5 per cent of the Israeli population.