Gazans mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza, Palestine on December 3, 2017 [Mohammed Asad / Middle East Monitor] Gazans mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza, Palestine on December 3, 2017 [Mohammed Asad / Middle East Monitor] Gazans mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza, Palestine on December 3, 2017 [Mohammed Asad / Middle East Monitor]

Dozens of Palestinians staged a rally in the Gaza Strip on Sunday to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

“We are here to draw attention to the rights and demands of people with disabilities in Gaza,” Amjad al-Shawa, chairman of the Palestinian Non-governmental Organisations Network, told participants.

Participants, who gathered outside the cabinet premises in Gaza City, waved banners calling on the government to fulfill the needs of disabled people in the enclave.

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“People with disabilities are the most vulnerable people in Gaza and are paying the heaviest price for the Israeli blockade on the strip,” al-Shawa said.

There are around 27,000 people with disabilities in Gaza and the West Bank, according to official Palestinian figures.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed December 3 as the International Day of Disabled Persons in 1992.

It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

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Images by MEMO photographer Mohammed Asad.