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Last update - 19:24 15/05/2009
Only 2,000 turn out for Gaza Nakba Day march held by Hamas
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
Tags: Israel News, Hamas, Gaza 

Only 2,000 people turned out for a march held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip to mark Nakba Day, the commemoration of the dispersal of Palestinians during the 1948 War of Independence.

Commentators in the coastal territory believe the poor showing was due to internal Palestinian strife and Israel's offensive against Hamas, Operation Cast Lead.

Palestinians refer to the events of 1948 - when hundreds of thousands fled or were driven from their homes - as the nakba, which in Arabic means catastrophe.
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In a reflection of the deep political split between the two main Palestinian groups, Fatah and Hamas, the factions marked the anniversary separately and on different dates.

The Palestinians in the West Bank, ruled by moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, marked the anniversary on Thursday.

Abbas plans to ask his prime minister within the coming week to form a new government without Hamas, signaling a breakdown in the unity talks with the Islamist group, which ousted Fatah from Gaza in a bloody 2007 coup.

Addressing the crowd in Gaza, Deputy Parliament Speaker Ahmed Bahar of Hamas criticized Pope Benedict XVI for not visiting Gaza during his Holy Land pilgrimage, which ended Friday.

Bahar accused the pope of ignoring the plight of the Palestinians and of
applying double standards by supporting the Zionists.

During his visit, Benedict repeatedly called for setting up a sovereign Palestinian state, but also made a strong case for Israel's right to exist.

Jordan's King Abdull II, meanwhile, referred to the anniversary Friday as he stressed the importance of achieving Mideast peace.

"At family tables tonight, there will be elders who can tell of entire lifetimes of sorrow and loss, and newborns who may be the fourth generation ... born into conflict and an uncertain future," Abdullah told the opening meeting of an international economic gathering in Jordan sponsored by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum
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  1.   2000 out of 1million gazans 19:45  |  dave 15/05/09
  2.   Abdullah II kind of hypocracy ha??? 19:53  |  dave 15/05/09
  3.   something is going to happen soon 21:41  |  vik 15/05/09
  4.   the real nakba 22:28  |  jem 15/05/09
  5.   Nakba 23:27  |  MMM 15/05/09
  6.   If Nakba truly commemorated... 01:00  |  Jasper 16/05/09
  7.   To #4 01:39  |  Yoav 16/05/09
  8.   vik 03:20  |  jennifer 16/05/09
  9.   jennifer give me a break 05:40  |  vik 16/05/09
  10.   Gazans know that Hamas rule of terror is their real nakba 07:13  |  Dan 16/05/09
  11.   dave - correction. The Jordanians slaughted between 5000-10000 07:15  |  Dan 16/05/09
  12.   Next time accept UN partition Plan and don`t try to annihilate us 07:17  |  Dan 16/05/09
  13.   Only in the Middle East you can have it both ways 07:28  |  Dan 16/05/09
  14.   to Yoav 10:45  |  jem 16/05/09
  15.   vik 13:00  |  jennifer 16/05/09
  16.   yoav 13:42  |  x-ray 16/05/09
  17.   Jennifer: Bombing Funerals?? 15:44  |  Jasper 16/05/09
  18.   I honestly can say I really have very little pity 16:58  |  Lynn 16/05/09
  19.   Jasper 17:08  |  jennifer 16/05/09
  20.   ISRAEL`S REAL NAKBA 17:09  |  abram 16/05/09
  21.   Steadfast in the face of threat of assassination 11:34  |  Nick Ferriman 21/05/09
  22.   NAGHBA? 03:23  |  Michelle 22/05/09
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