Thousands of residents and officials marched on Tuesday in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the “Nakba”, when the historic Palestine was captured in 1948 and thousands of Palestinians were displaced.The protesters carried Palestinian and black flags and carried posters demanding the implementation of the Right of Return to all Palestinian refugees.
The marchers stopped at Thabit Thabit quarter in the city and held their main activities.
Ra’fat Al Bal’awi, advisor of Tulkarem Governor, addressed the Palestinian factions in Gaza and demanded them to stop the internal clashes and the killings, and to resolve their differences without guns and explosives.
Bal’awi added that the Palestinians have been repeatedly displaced by the Israeli occupation, and were forced out of their lands, and now “their blood is not only being spilled by the Israeli soldiers, but also by the gunmen who are fighting in the streets of Gaza”.
He also stated that these clashes polluted the Palestinian history, and the Palestinian legitimate struggle against the Israeli occupation throughout the years.
Furthermore, Bal’awi appealed the Palestinian people, the presidents, the government and leaders of all factions to stand firm against chaos and insecurity, and to stop these clashes.
Meanwhile, Hakam Talib, who delivered the speech of the National and Islamic Factions, said that the Right of Return is a sacred right which cannot be abandoned or negotiated.
He called on all factions to remain united in their positions and standards and to remain firm on their legitimate demand for the implementation of the Right of Return which is guaranteed by article 11of Security Council resolution number 194, issued by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1948.
Talib appealed the clashing factions to resolve their differences and to act for the best interests of the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation and independence. He also called on the factions to fall into the trap of civil war.
It is worth mentioning that hundreds of students and scout groups, participated in the procession and carried Palestinians flags, and posters carrying the names the villages which were completely destroyed in 1948, and their residents were massacred and displaced.
