The West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Thursday witnessed demonstrations calling for the Palestinian refugees' right of return to their home as the Palestinians are to mark their 63th Nakba day on Sunday.
Nakba day, or "catastrophe day" in Arabic, is an annual Palestinian event to commemorate the creation of Israel in 1948.
Dozens of students demonstrated in Gaza City, where they took to the main streets and marched up to the local headquarters of the United Nations. The demonstrators rallied before the UN headquarters and called for urgent international movement to enable the Palestinians to return home.
They waved Palestinian flags, held banners with the names of the Palestinian towns and villages they left in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli war, when the state of Israel was established, and wore traditional garments that show the Palestinian history of each village and town.
The young demonstrators handed a written letter to the UN officials at the building, urging the UN to help the Palestinians resolve their 63-year issue by finding a just and fair solution that enables the Palestinian people to gain freedom, independence and compensation.
"The Palestinians would never be able to build up their future elsewhere, except in Palestine. Palestine is the land of their fathers and ancestors," said the letter, adding that "the right of return for the Palestinians who were forced to leave their towns is a right that can never be dropped."
Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans demanding the Palestinians' right to return, the demonstrators marched towards the church of Nativity in the town, as an announcement of launching a series of peaceful protests to mark the Nakba day.
Mohamed al-Lahham, a member of the popular committee to revive the Nakba day, told the protestors that the right of return is a legitimate right that can never be dropped or changed.
Similar demonstrations were also staged in the West Bank city of Jenin and Tulkarem, with leaders and representatives of various political powers and factions, including the rival movements Fatah and Hamas, participating.
Qais Abdel-Karim, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), told the rally that peace in the region "can never be achieved without giving the Palestinian people their legitimate right, mainly their freedom and independence."
The Palestinian Forum for the Right of Return had earlier called on the Palestinians to demonstrate across the Palestinian territories and abroad, mainly on May 15, the Nakba day.
Israel announced Wednesday that its army forces were preparing for possible confrontations during the Palestinian demonstrations on the day.
Israeli Radio reported that the Israeli army chief Beni Gants had held a meeting with the commanders in the West Bank to study the means of dealing with the protests. According to the Radio, the Israeli army is preparing for various scenarios.
The Palestinian refugees, who have been living in poor conditions in refugee camps on the Palestinian territories or Arab countries like Lebanon, Syria and Jordan since 1948, mark the Nakba Day every year by rallies and protests for their right to return.
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