Protesters mark anniversary of Israeli occupation

Protesters mark anniversary of Israeli occupation
Mon May 13, 2013 20:18:35

Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators have gathered in front of the Israeli Ofer prison in Ramallah, West Bank, to protest the 65th anniversary of Israeli military occupation of their homeland, Al-Alam reports.

Israeli regime forces attacked the demonstrators with tear gas canister and rubber bullets to disperse the gathering which included several Palestinian parties’ leaders.


During the 1948 occupation of Palestine by Israeli forces, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled or forced to leave, and hundreds of Palestinian villages were aggressively depopulated and destroyed.


Every year on May 15th, Palestinians mark the anniversary of the Israeli occupation as day of Nakba, meaning "catastrophe" or "disaster”.


“Returning to Palestine is our right and it never gets forgotten even after a thousand years,” a demonstrator said. “We will continue our protests until all those who were forced to leave their homeland are returned,” he added.


Israeli forces also clashed with dozens of Palestinian protesters following the Israeli army’s decision to allow illegal settlers to install a settlement outpost in the occupied West Bank.


Clashes broke out between scores of Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers in the city of Beit Sahour, east of Bethlehem, on Sunday.


The presence and continued expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.

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