CLASHES ERUPTED yesterday in east Jerusalem and in the West Bank as Palestinians prepared for tomorrow’s Nakba day anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
Palestinian protesters threw stones at Israeli security forces in a number of east Jerusalem neighbourhoods and in the Bethlehem and Ramallah areas. A number of Palestinians and four Israeli troops were wounded and about a dozen protesters were arrested.
Most Israelis celebrated the country’s 63rd independence day earlier this week, according to the Hebrew calendar. Palestinians and some Israeli Arabs mark the anniversary on May 15th as a day of mourning, using the Arabic word ‘nakba’, or catastrophe.
This year’s protests will take on added significance, coming ahead of September’s expected endorsement by the United Nations of Palestinian independence. Both sides are viewing the events as a dry run of what may happen “the day after” a September vote at the UN.
When protests erupted across the Arab world, the West Bank and Gaza remained relatively quiet. However most analysts believe this could change in September if aspirations of statehood are not met with changes.
Tomorrow activists are planning marches at various locations across the West Bank and Gaza towards the Israeli border, and a similar protest is planned by Palestinian refugees in south Lebanon.
Facebook protest pages called for May 15th to mark the start of a third intifada uprising against Israeli rule, although organisers of the “return procession” stressed that the protest will be peaceful.
Pamphlets distributed by activists explained that the aim of the processions was “to demand our natural right to return to our land and implement UN resolutions”.