Palestinians called today for marches across the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a three-minute silence to commemorate the Nakba.
The Nakba, or Great Catastrophe, was when 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their homes amid fighting over the creation of Israel in 1948.
Palestinian officials said Mr Yasser Arafat would deliver an "address to the nation" at 11 a.m. (9 a.m. Irish time) in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian government.
It was not clear if Mr Arafat would respond to Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's charge yesterday that his was a "corrupt terror regime" that must be reformed as a condition of any resumption of peace talks.
In a speech to parliament, Mr Sharon said Israel had not yet completed its mission to root out Palestinians suspected of attacks on Israelis and that punishing army raids into Palestinian-ruled territory would continue.
"There can be no peace with a corrupt terror regime which is rotten and dictatorial. . . . There has to be a different (Palestinian) Authority," Mr Sharon said.
Indicating reform was afoot, a Palestinian cabinet statement said last night Mr Arafat had ratified a law establishing an independent judiciary.