Violence erupts on 'Day of Catastrophe'

Demonstrations take place against a backdrop of anger and bloodshed

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets of the West Bank and Gaza in demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the creation of Israel 53 years ago.

Demonstrators have clashed with Israeli forces throughout the occupied territories, with dozens of injuries from Israeli gunfire and four deaths.

Executioners continue to walk through the puddles of our blood with their military escalation and siege of our towns

Yasser Arafat

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in a rare public address, called on his people to stand strong against Israeli "aggression" and an end to the occupation of Arab land.

Palestinians designate 15 May as the Day of al-Nakba, or the catastrophe, to commemorate the mass displacement of around 700,000 Palestinians from their land when the Israeli state was created in 1948.

More bloodshed

The Israeli army said it had fired a tank shell at a group of Palestinians it said had launched a mortar bomb near the Nahal Oz checkpoint between Gaza and Israel.

Arafat has not addressed his people like this since September

The blast killed a bodyguard of Ahmad Yassin, the spiritual leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas, and injured six others.

News of the bloodshed heightened the atmosphere among the crowds, coming ahead of the three-minute silence traditionally observed at noon (0900 GMT).

The demonstrators were then called on by the Palestinian authorities to take part peacefully a so-called "great national march". It was during the marches that clashes occurred.

Arafat defiant

Mr Arafat - whose recorded speech was broadcast on TV and played over public address systems - said the Palestinian people would "not be silenced" by Israeli force.

"The road to peace is as clear as the sun, the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the Arab territories... and a return of Palestinian refugees," he said.

He said the hour had come for the international community "to wake up to the injustice" suffered by the Palestinian people and tell Israel to stop its "aggression".

The Palestinian leader himself is holding talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Mubarak.

Mr Arafat's second-in-command, Mahmoud Abbas, is in Washington, where he plans to meet Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Israel expects violence

Israel had expressed fears that al-Nakba day would spawn more fighting and put its forces have been put on high alert and troops have been deployed to suspected trouble spots.

Monday saw the highest death toll of Palestinian policemen

"Most of our intelligence reports indicate that the Palestinians are preparing more violent activities and not just peaceful demonstrations as they claim," said Raanan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Hamas issued a statement calling on Palestinians to pursue the fight against Israel, arguing that "the enemy only understands the language of violence".

The group insisted that "armed struggle was the only way Palestinians would recover their land".

Emotional day

The day is one of the most emotionally charged dates in the Palestinian political calendar.

Even a year ago, before the current Palestinian uprising began, thousands took to the streets and more than 200 Palestinians were injured and four were killed.

This year, after eight months of violence, which has left more than 500 dead, the vast majority of them Palestinians, tensions are far worse.

Israel is expected to soon make public its objections to the recommendations made by the US-led Mitchell Commission, for a freeze on Jewish settlement building as a means of returning to peace talks.

The Palestinians are reported to be planning a positive response, and officials say it must be taken as a complete package, not one from which any party "has the right to select whatever it wants".