Waving Palestinian flags, thousands of Arab Israelis hold annual ‘Nakba’ march in north

Thousands of flag-waving Arab citizens who identify as Palestinian marched in northern Israel on Tuesday to commemorate the flight of Palestinians, some forced, during the 1948 War of Independence, and to demand the right of all those defined as refugees to return.

Many of the about 3,000 people also call for an end to the war against Hamas in Gaza as they take part in the march near the city of Haifa marking the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” the Arabic term for Israel’s creation and accompanying displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Many hold up Palestinian flags and wear keffiyeh head scarves during the annual “March of Return,” a rare Arab Israeli demonstration permitted to go ahead as the war in the Gaza Strip rages on.

“This is part of our liberation,” says Fidaa Shehadeh, coordinator of the Women Against Weapons Coalition and former member of Lod’s city council. “It’s not only about ending the occupation but also about allowing all refugees the ability to return to the homeland.”