In parallel with Israel's sputtering attempts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence, Mr Yasser Arafat yesterday launched a downbeat Palestinian equivalent.
Addressing about 200 Palestinian notables in Ramallah, he referred to the events of 1948 as "the catastrophe", when the Arab-Israel war that engulfed the founding of the state turned hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into refugees.
And yet, he said, there was something to celebrate in that catastrophe: "Because our being here is a show of strength . . . and a reminder that this land will remain Palestinian."
Israel had planned a series of grandiose events to mark the jubilee but the celebrations have been dogged by disputes, resignations and funding shortages.
A second attempt to inaugurate the festivities was made on Wednesday, with a modest tree-planting ceremony and a re-ratification of the state's declaration of independence.
The Palestinians, for their part, are planning various relatively low-key symposia, an educational programme and the establishment of a museum. Mr Arafat repeated yesterday that, a year from now, he intends to declare independent Palestinian statehood in Gaza and the West Bank, regardless of the status of the peace process. He warned that if necessary the Palestinians were ready to resort to Intifada-style protests against the continuing Israeli occupation of most of the West Bank.
Palestinians in Nablus again demonstrated yesterday in support of Iraq and a similar rally in Hebron culminated in clashes with Israeli soldiers. The protests, which featured the now familiar call to Iraq to "hit Tel Aviv" with missiles, were held despite a ban on pro-Iraqi rallies issued earlier this week by the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, who is refusing to honour his commitment to further Israeli troop withdrawals from the West Bank, has seized on these signs of what he has called "worship of Saddam Hussein" to underline his argument that the Palestinians have not proved their genuine "readiness for peace."