Thousands of Palestinians rallied on Sunday during Nakba Day – what Palestinians call “the catastrophe” that befell them in the war that led to the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes during and after the war.
The Nakba refers to the systematic ethnic cleansing of one-third of the Palestinian population at the time by Zionist paramilitaries between 1947-1949 and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society.
About 750,000 Palestinians out of a population of 1.9 million were expelled from their towns and villages to make way for new Jewish immigrants.
The anniversary comes when many are angered by the killing of prominent Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
On May 15, 1948, Israel was established as a Jewish-majority state at the expense of the forced expulsion of about 750,000 Palestinians.
The day has subsequently been commemorated annually as Nakba Day. The word “Nakba” means “catastrophe” in Arabic, and refers to the systematic ethnic cleansing of two-thirds of the Palestinian population at the time by Zionist paramilitaries between 1947-1949 and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society.
At least 16 Palestinians have been injured during clashes that broke out with Israeli forces at the northern entrance to al-Bireh, a West Bank city located 15 kilometres from Jerusalem, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.
Zionist forces had taken more than 78 percent of historic Palestine, ethnically cleansed and destroyed about 530 villages and cities, and killed about 15,000 Palestinians in a series of mass atrocities, including more than 70 massacres.
This year marks 74 years of Al-Nakba, or the Palestinian experience of dispossession and loss of a homeland. The anniversary comes at a time where many are angered by the killing of prominent Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Members of the Palestinian community and colleagues of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh have gathered in Qatar’s capital to mark the 74th anniversary of Nakba day and commemorate the reporter’s life.
Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Doha, said that “a lot of people believe that through the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh the Palestinian voice has become a lot more united.”
“She symbolised what was at the essence of the Palestinian struggle – the struggle for freedom, to express oneself,” Elshayyal said.The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the injuries included seven by live ammunition and three by rubber-coated steel bullets. Four people reported breathing following tear gas inhalation.
Israeli forces attacked a rally that took place at the northern entrance to al-Bireh city to mark the 74th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe), leading to clashes, WAFA said.