Palestinians Mark CATASTROPHE

[Aratta-Kingdom]

PALESTINIANS MARK 'CATASTROPHE'

 

BBC NEWS

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...ast/7401892.stm

2008/05/15 10:06:54 GMT

 

Palestinians are marking the 60th anniversary of al-Nakba, or "the

catastrophe" - the founding of Israel - with a series of marches

and protests.

 

More than 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes or were expelled

in 1948, during the war that followed Israel's declaration of

independence.

 

The events come on the second day of US President George W Bush's

visit.

 

He is currently in Israel, joining the Jewish state's 60th anniversary

commemorations and pushing peace talks.

 

Palestinians are marking the date with a march to Israeli military

checkpoints in the West Bank and a demonstration at Palestinian

Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' compound in Ramallah.

 

In Ramallah, there were two minutes of silence for the Palestinians

who fled or were expelled.

 

Mr Abbas said: "There are two peoples living on this beloved land -

one celebrates independence and the other feels pain of the memory

of its Nakba."

 

In Gaza City, the Islamic Jihad militant group has organised a rally

of 500 schoolchildren dressed in military uniforms.

 

'US steadfast'

 

Six decades after the founding of Israel, the Palestinians are still

seeking an independent state.

 

We share a powerful belief and a weapon against terrorists - the

cause of hope, freedom and liberty President George W Bush

 

The fate of 1948 refugees and their descendents, living scattered in

camps and settlements around the region, remains one of the thorniest

issues in peace talks.

 

Mr Bush has repeated his belief that Israel and the Palestinians could

strike a deal to bring about a Palestinian state by the end of the

year, which the two sides pledged to do at a US-sponsored conference

last November.

 

But correspondents say few in the region are optimistic that tangible

progress is being made in the talks, despite repeated visits by US

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

 

While Mr Bush has praised Israel, many Palestinians accuse the country

of hurting the innocent and of collective punishment in its attempts to

quash Palestinian militants, says the BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem.

 

On Wednesday, 14 people, including a mother and daughter, were injured

when a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit the southern Israeli city

of Ashkelon.

 

Earlier in the day, four people were killed in Israeli military

operations in Gaza.

 

On Thursday, Mr Bush addressed militant groups like al-Qaeda, Hezbollah

and Hamas and said Muslims should "recognise the emptiness of the

terrorists' vision and the injustice of their cause".

 

In remarks prepared for delivery to Israel's parliament, the Knesset,

he says the US "rejects utterly" calls for it to break ties with

Israel.

 

"Israel's population may be just over seven million. But when you

confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America

stands with you."

 

He will also again urge action to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear

weapons.

 

"Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the

world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future

generations," he will say.

 

Before his speech Mr Bush toured the Roman-era desert fortress

of Masada.

 

In an act of defiance during Roman rule, almost 1,000 Jews were

chronicled to have committed suicide there rather than surrender to

the Romans.

 

Mr Bush's Middle East visit will include Saudi Arabia and Egypt in an

attempt to inject some momentum into the current peace talks between

the Israelis and Palestinians.

 

But there will be no trilateral summit between the American, Israeli

and Palestinian leaders, however, and Mr Bush will not be visiting

the Palestinian territories.

 

Instead, he is to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

in Egypt.