Palestinian 'nakba' protests turn deadly. Israel sees Iran's 'fingerprints.'

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Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem on Sunday during protests to mark the anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, a day many Palestinians call "nakba," meaning "catastrophe."

Dozens were wounded in those protests, which come after Palestinian rival political groups Hamas and Fatah recently signed a reconciliation deal in Cairo, making an already-dormant peace process appear even further away. But attention is already turning to deadly clashes that erupted on Israel's borders with Lebanon and Syria, reportedly resulting in the deaths of eight people.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accuse Iran of orchestrating two waves of fighting along its northern borders, as Palestinian protesters tried to infiltrate from Syria and Lebanon during nakba protests, reports the Israeli daily Haaretz, citing IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai as saying the protests bore Iran's "fingerprints."

"The IDF confirmed opening fire as scores of Palestinian refugees spilled into the town of Majdal Shams, which runs along Israel's border with Syria. At least four people, apparently Palestinian refugees, were killed," reports Haaretz. "[Mr. Mordechai] also confirmed that the IDF fired at a crowd of Lebanese protesters who approached the border with Israel and began vandalizing the fence. The spokesman had no details on the number of casualties, but Lebanese sources said there had been four fatalities."

In the West Bank, Agence-France Presse reports that at least 24 Palestinians have been injured so far in clashes with Israeli security forces, including five people injured by rubber bullets near the West Bank crossing of Qalandiya. Israeli security forces shot tear gas and rubber bullets at youths hurling rocks at them, reports AFP. One of the protesters was wounded seriously.

The Palestinian news agency, Maan, reports that demonstrators set tires on fire and threw stones at security forces near Birzeit University north of Ramallah, where police responded with rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades.

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