Palestinians cancel Nakba march in Israel after police crackdown

Organisers of a march to commemorate the Nakba on 15 May cancelled the annual event due to restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities.

Former Knesset member Mohammed Barakeh, who is head of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens, said police reduced the number of participants to 700 from thousands in previous years. He also said it banned the waving of Palestinian flags.

Barakeh said people would now gather in former Palestinian villages that were depopulated by Zionist forces in 1948. The ruins of these villages are scattered across Israel.

Nakba is the term used to refer to the ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians by Zionist paramilitary forces during the creation of the Israeli state.