Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets across the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday to mark the passage of 68 years since the "Nakba" ("catastrophe" in Arabic), which coincided with the establishment of the state of Israel.
(An old Palestinian man marks the 68th anniversary of Nakba as he holds an old symbolic key to refer to his old home in Fawwar refugee camp south of the West Bank city of Hebron, 15 May 2016.)
In Ramallah, thousands of Palestinians waving Palestinian and black flags marched from the tomb of iconic leader Yasser Arafat to Arafat Square in the city center.
(Palestinian refugee Fouad Khader, 88, poses for a photograph in front of a mural ahead of the 68th anniversary of Nakba, at in Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah May 14, 2016.)
As they marched across the city, protesters read out the names of Palestinian villages razed decades ago to make way for the new state of Israel.
(A Palestinian boy stands in front of a wall with Arabic graffiti that says 'we will return', as Palestinians mark the 68th anniversary of Nakba in Fawwar refugee camp south of the West Bank city of Hebron, 15 May 2016.)
Two rallies were held in the East Jerusalem districts of Jabl al-Mukaber and Bab al-Amoud to mark the occasion, where protestors chanted, "No compromise on the right of return!"
(Palestinians act in a play enacting "Nakba" or Catastrophe day in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, May 15, 2016.)
"For 68 years, we have struggled against the Israeli occupation," Omar Assaf, a member of a Palestinian commission for commemorating Nakba Day, told Anadolu Agency.
(Palestinian refugee Mohammed Ali Hamdan, 90, holds a key symbolising the loss of his home as he poses for a photograph in front of a mural, on the 68th anniversary of Nakba, at Aida refugee camp near the West Bank city of Bethlehem May 15, 2016.)
He said Palestinians were prepared to make further sacrifices in order to eventually recover their land.
(Palestinian refugee Mohammed Shehadeh, 86, holds a key symbolising the loss of his home as he poses for a photograph in front of a mural ahead of the 68th anniversary of Nakba, at in Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah May 14, 2016.)
"Every day brings us closer to our return to our homeland," he said.
(Palestinian refugee Abdul Qadir al llahem, 95, poses for a photograph in front of a mural on the 68th anniversary of Nakba, at Dheisheh refugee camp near the West Bank city of Bethlehem May 15, 2016.)
Palestinians use the word "Nakba" to refer to the destruction of hundreds of villages in historical Palestine -- and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their land by armed Zionist gangs --to make way for the new state of Israel in 1948.
(Palestinian women walk past a mural in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2016, on the 68th anniversary of the "Nakba".)
The Israel-Palestine conflict began in 1917 when the British government, in the now-famous "Balfour Declaration," called for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".
(Palestinians stand on a makeshift train, that is symbolically heading to the homes and lands they left in 1948, on May 15, 2016 in the West Bank town of Bethlehem as they commemorate the "Nakba" or "catastrophe" in Arabic in reference to the establishment in 1948 of the state of Israel.)
In 1948, a new state -- "Israel" -- was established inside historical Palestine.
(A Palestinian waves national flags and holds a large key on May 15, 2016 in Gaza city during a rally to commemorate the "Nakba" or "catastrophe" in Arabic in reference to the establishment in 1948 of the state of Israel.)
Around 15,000 Palestinians were killed, some 800,000 displaced, and 531 Arab villages destroyed in attacks by armed Jewish groups at the time.
(A Palestinian girl, wearing earrings bearing the number "68", holds a large key on May 15, 2016 in Gaza city during a rally to commemorate the "Nakba" or "catastrophe" in Arabic in reference to the establishment in 1948 of the state of Israel.)
The Palestinian diaspora has since become one of the largest in the world. Palestinian refugees are now scattered across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and other countries, while many have since settled in refugee camps in the Palestine's West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(Palestinians re-enact a scene from the 1948 Nakba during a rally marking the 68th anniversary of the Nakba in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 15, 2016.)
According to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are currently more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees.
(Palestinian refugee Ibrahim Abu Mustaf, 83, who says is a former inhabitant of the town of Beersheva, carries the key to his former home as he sits outside his home in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2016, on the 68th anniversary of the "Nakba".)
For many Palestinians, the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine remains a key demand.
(A Palestinian youth waves the national flag as Israeli military digs in search of smuggling tunnels at the border east of Gaza city on May 15, 2016, on the 68th anniversary of the "Nakba".)
A Palestinian refugee carries a poster while marking "Nakba" or Catastrophe Day in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, May 15, 2016. Palestinians marked the 68th anniversary of their displacement following the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948.
Palestinian refugee Munira Shehadeh, 76, holds a key symbolising the loss of her home as she poses for a photograph in front of a mural ahead of the 68th anniversary of Nakba, at in Qalandia refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah May 14, 2016.
