Thousands hit streets worldwide in rallies to mark Nakba Day

TWITTER/PRESS TV

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside parliament in Oslo, Norway, on May 14, 2022.

Rallies and demonstrations were held in cities across the US, Australia and elsewhere in the world to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe) Day, which marks the 1948 forced expulsion of nearly 800,000 Palestinians from their homes in historical Palestine as Israel proclaimed its illegal existence, Press TV reported.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied in many US cities, including New York, Boston, Washington, and Dearborn, Michigan, on Saturday, to show solidarity with Palestinians and call for an end to Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Several Jewish people also attended the rally, carrying placards that read “Not in my name” and “Solidarity with Palestine” as the protesters took over a street in the area.

Separately, throngs of people gathered in Copley Square in Boston, while hundreds rallied on the Washington Monument grounds in the US capital.

Similar pro-Palestine rallies were held in San Francisco and San Diego as well.

Elsewhere in the Canadian city of Montreal, several thousand people called for “the liberation of Palestine” during a mass demonstration.

The protesters also denounced "war crimes" committed by Israeli troops in Gaza, and carried placards condemning the Tel Aviv regime for violating international law.

Earlier, a caravan of cars sounded their horns and drove with Palestinian flags outside the Israeli Consulate in the western part of Montreal.

Demonstrations in Australia, Norway

Moreover, thousands of people marched through the streets of the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in solidarity with the people living in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In Sydney, men, women and children waved flags and placards as they chanted “Long live Palestine”. They carried pictures of veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot by Israeli troops on Wednesday as she was covering an army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, in central Melbourne, protesters holding Palestinian flags commemorated Nakba Day. People took part in a pro-Palestine rally in the city of Auckland, and paid tribute to Abu Akleh.

Hundreds of people also demonstrated outside the Storting building, which is the seat of the parliament of Norway, in the capital Oslo, on Saturday in commemoration of Nakba Day and in protest at the cold-blooded murder of former correspondent of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television news network.

Hamas statement

Furthermore, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement called on all Palestinians to mount resistance and confront Israeli occupiers by all available means.

“Comprehensive resistance is our choice and path to fight the occupiers,” the movement said in a statement.

“It is necessary to form a national front that is in line with the aspirations of our nation. Freedom of prisoners is our first priority,” the statement read.