Gaza marks Nakba Day - day of catastrophe

Gaza marks Nakba Day - day of catastrophe - with marches and rallies

by Saud Abu Ramadan

GAZA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A yellow van drove through Gaza City's densely populated streets on Tuesday, with a loudspeaker calling on residents to mark the 64th anniversary of Nakba Day, or "the day of catastrophe" in Arabic.

Hundreds of young men and women waving small flags of Palestine marched through the city's main street Omer al-Mukhtar, led by eight young men carrying a huge map of historic Palestine with names of towns and villages on it.

A Palestinian flag of the similar size was also held by eight youths, who were chanted slogans that marked Nakba Day and called for giving Palestinians the legitimate rights they have been demanding and struggling for since 1948.

Every May 15, Palestinians mark this special day that reminds them of their homeland, which has been occupied by Israel since the Jewish state's establishment 64 years ago.

"I came here to join this rally to say to the world that Palestine is our right. I wasn't born in Jaffa, but my father, who died five years ago, was born there. I live in Gaza but I still consider myself a Palestinian from Jaffa," said Ahmed Abu Ghali, a 42-year-old Palestinian teacher from Gaza.

There are eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, the biggest of which is Jabalia in the north, where 200,000 Palestinian refugees from the occupied towns and villages are living.

Representatives and leaders of various Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, joined the rally, speaking to the crowds about the Palestinian people's rights to their lands.

A marathon was also organized in Gaza City by the de facto Hamas government's ministry of sports and youths. Hundreds of participants, aged between 8 and 60 years old, wore T-shirts with slogans that "Jerusalem is ours, Palestine is our right" and started from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the city. more

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