(ANSAmed) - NAZARETH (GALILEE, ISRAEL), APRIL 26 - On the day
Israel celebrates the 64th anniversary of the foundation of the
Jewish State, a crowd of around 10,000 Arab Israelis came
together in the village of Qwai Qat, in the north of Galilee,
for a counterdemonstration against the occupation of those
territories the Palestinians still call 'Historic Palestine',
annexed by Israel in 1948.
The demonstrators, mostly families with children, spent the afternoon listening to traditional music in the shade of age-old olive trees. The event was organised by an NGO, also to support the right for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, next to Israel, and to denounce the ''discrimination'' suffered by the Arab-Israeli minority (1.5 million people on a total of 7.8 million). This discrimination, they say, becomes evident from the fact that the sums invested in areas inhabited by this group are much lower than the national average. The protest was peaceful, like the celebrations organised by the country's majority in the name of patriotic pride, with traditions like barbecues and trips (1.5 people have visit parks and reserves in the country according to estimates). No serious incidents have been reported, with the exception of some people throwing stones at a Palestinian border check-point (closed until tomorrow, a precaution always used during important Israeli anniversaries), leaving one soldier mildly injured. (ANSAmed).
The demonstrators, mostly families with children, spent the afternoon listening to traditional music in the shade of age-old olive trees. The event was organised by an NGO, also to support the right for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, next to Israel, and to denounce the ''discrimination'' suffered by the Arab-Israeli minority (1.5 million people on a total of 7.8 million). This discrimination, they say, becomes evident from the fact that the sums invested in areas inhabited by this group are much lower than the national average. The protest was peaceful, like the celebrations organised by the country's majority in the name of patriotic pride, with traditions like barbecues and trips (1.5 people have visit parks and reserves in the country according to estimates). No serious incidents have been reported, with the exception of some people throwing stones at a Palestinian border check-point (closed until tomorrow, a precaution always used during important Israeli anniversaries), leaving one soldier mildly injured. (ANSAmed).
