Palestinians Mark 64th Nakba Day
Palestinians commemorated on Tuesday the 64th anniversary of the Nakba, the day of Israel’s establishment. The marking of the Nakba occurs this year in exceptional circumstances after the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails ended their hunger strike in protest of Israeli Prison Authority’s policy against them.
On the ground there were some clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the West Bank. “The police forces, in coordination with the army and border guards were deployed in sensitive areas, and we hope that everything will go peacefully,” said Miki Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police. The main rally was planned in Ramallah. Events also held in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Representatives of Israeli Arabs have called for a general strike and to visit the site of Arab villages displaced after 1948.
“The refugee issue is a political matter of choice arising from the occupation of Palestine, and the just solution to this case can’t occur without the refugees regain their homes and property in Palestine,” said a statement by the Gaza-based Hamas, expressing its refusal solutions such as immigration and exile.
The Hamas movement has affirmed its “commitment to the right of return as an individual and collective right of the Palestinian people, who do not fall into disuse.” Hamas has warned against “the continued operations of Jerusalm’s Judaization”, stating that “the al-Aqsa Mosque is already at risk.” “The Zionist enemy is working night and day for the division of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and its destruction in order to build the alleged temple instead of it.” Hamas called upon the Arab and Muslim and the free world to save Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque of Judaization.
On its part, Fatah Movement affirmed the right of Palestinian refugees to return, calling “to ensure their legitimate rights included in the conventions and international treaties.” Fatah stressed “its commitment to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, especially the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their towns, villages, houses and land, the release of detainees and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem its capital.”
