Palestinians mark 73rd anniversary of Nakba as sirens wail in Israel

Palestinians have staged rallies across the occupied territories to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), during which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes by Zionist paramilitaries to make way for the creation of Israel.

Palestinians, whose families were uprooted in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, on Thursday visited several destroyed towns and villages that once accommodated their ancestors, reiterating their right to return as they have done for decades.

Even though the Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Displaced (ADRID), the organizer of the annual March of Return, had called upon people to participate in online demonstrations and activities due to the coronavirus pandemic, many in-person demonstrations went ahead regardless.

The ADRID called on Palestinians inside Israel to display the name of their families’ destroyed villages and raise Palestinian flags on rooftops, terraces and balconies.