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Turnout Weak for Nakba Day in Gaza

The Gaza Strip's Nakba Day rally suffered low attendance this year as disenchanted youths turned to social media to express their frustration.
A Palestinian girl attends a Nakba rally in Gaza City May 15, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948.  REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZN2A
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The Palestinians commemorated the 65th Nakba anniversary by holding rallies, conferences and meetings in cities across Palestine, issuing press releases and publishing articles on websites. The youth took to social media to stress the right of return and posted pictures of the 1948 Palestinian displacement.

On Wednesday, May 15, the Supreme National Committee to Commemorate the Nakba organized a rally and a festival in the Gaza Strip, including sounding sirens and a observing a minute of silence in the morning. Public participation was noticeably weak as Palestinians, especially the youth, are frustrated about the futility of these activities in light of the political division between Hamas and Fatah.

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