The actions by the Israeli forces in response to the demonstrations amount to unlawful, excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of lethal force. On 28 April 2018, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that, “[i]n the context of an occupation such as Gaza, killings resulting from the unlawful use of force may also constitute willful killings which are a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”105 This suppression represents another expression of Israel’s policy of denial of return, violently stopping any initiative that demands the right of return for forcibly displaced Palestinians. “The March of Return began on the anniversary of Land Day on 30 March 2018. But this protest was ‎not born today; it is part of other activities that took place in the past. ‎We have been participating in these events since the Nakba [1948] until now. [My 14-year-old son] Hussein joined the demonstrations, I’ve joined them before, and my ‎father joined them as well. The aim of these demonstrations is to send three messages. The first is addressed to the whole world, and it is to say ‎that we have a right in this land, that this land was robbed, and that we must have our own state like the rest of ‎the people in the world. The second message is for the Israeli occupation, to tell them that we did not forget our right ‎of return. And the third message is for our children, our families and the whole Palestinian population: hold on to t‎he right of return because it is a sacred right and we cannot forget it. [My son] Hussein was hit in the abdomen by an explosive device, at approximately 2 pm, at the Karni ‎checkpoint, east of al-Shojaeya in Gaza City. He was killed instantly. According to the testimony of some ‎people who were there, Hussein was more than 300 meters away from the separation fence ‎and therefore did not pose any danger to Israel.‎My son participated peacefully in the marches. He had no weapon. He participated like any other child, ‎trying to deliver his message. As refugees, we have a right to return to our lands and we have to achieve our d‎ ream.‎” Mohammad Maddi, Palestinian refugee in the Gaza Strip Interview: Gaza Strip, June 2018 Israeli justifications for the Denial More often than not Israel’s claims of the importance of maintaining a Jewish majority are enough to shut down any discussion on the right of return as an 105 OHCHR, “Gaza deaths: Israel must address excessive use of force,” 27 April 2018, available at: https:// ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22995&LangID=E [accessed 9 July 2018]. 39