JERUSALEM (JTA) — Palestinians marked the Nakba, the day that Israel became an independent country.
The Nakba, which means the Catastrophe, is usually marked on May 15, the day on the Gregorian calendar that Israel achieved statehood in 1948. But Palestinians marked it a day earlier, on Thursday, since Friday is the Muslim day of rest.
Israel celebrates Independence Day as it falls on the Hebrew calendar, which fell this year on April 29.
During a rally in Ramallah, protestors held up wooden keys to symbolize the keys to the homes they left in 1948, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, the Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Lieberman said it would propose legislation to ban Arab-Israelis from marking the Nakba.
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