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Palestinians take to the streets for Nakba Day

Every May 15, demonstrators mark the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the creation of Israel.

Nakba DAy
Palestinians carry a symbolic key with Arabic text that reads: 'We are coming back, Palestine' on Nakba Day in Gaza City. [Adel Hana/AP]
Published On 15 May 2017

Demonstrators flooded the streets of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Monday to mark the anniversary of the Nakba, or the dispersal of 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Nearly seven decades on, the number of registered Palestinian refugees has swelled to more than 5.3 million. They live in United Nations-run camps throughout the region, including in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. 

The Nakba, or catastrophe, is remembered each year on May 15.

Nakba Day
Demonstrators carry Palestinian flags and banners as they stage a rally to mark the 69th anniversary of Nakba Day in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
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Nakba Day
A Palestinian woman holds the key to her old family house as Palestinians stage a Nakba Day rally. [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
Nakba Day
People across historic Palestine - including Israel, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip - held rallies, marches and candlelit vigils on Monday. [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
Nakba Day
The Nakba, or catastrophe, came amid Israel's declaration of independence in 1948. [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
Nakba Day
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah joined one of the Nakba Day rallies. [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
Nakba Day
Monday also marked the 29th day of a hunger strike launched by 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]
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Nakba Day
A female protester is seen during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]
Nakba Day
Palestinian schoolgirls run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli troops during clashes in the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
Nakba Day
A Palestinian protester hurls stones towards Israeli troops during clashes at a protest marking the 69th anniversary of the Nakba in Bethlehem. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]