Palestinians mourn 1948 uprooting

Palestinians will mark the 60th anniversary of their displacement today, in an annual ritual of mourning turned even darker this year because of crippling internal divisions, diminishing independence hopes.

In stark contrast to Israel’s all-out birthday bash, West Bank rallies, sirens and the launch of thousands of black balloons will commemorate the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 war over the Jewish state’s creation.

Underscoring the political divisions, Gaza’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers planned separate events, including a march towards a sealed Israeli border crossing.

This year’s commemorations of what the Palestinians call their “nakba”, or catastrophe, comes at a time when hopes for a peace deal with Israel are increasingly dim.

Several months of negotiations have produced no tangible results, an Israeli prime minister weakened by a widening corruption probe is seen as unlikely to take daring political steps, and support for US-backed Palestinian leaders seeking a peace deal is plummeting.

The Palestinian economy remains stagnant, despite a massive injection of foreign aid, in part because of Israel’s reluctance to ease its restrictions on movement and trade.

Meanwhile, the separation of Hamas-run Gaza and the West Bank led by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is deepening. The rivals are not on speaking terms and the two territories that were to make up the future state are cut off from one another by Israeli travel bans.

“The level of hopelessness is very strong,” said Palestinian pollster Jamil Rabih, adding that a recent survey indicated that half the Palestinians did not expect to see a state established within the next 25 years.

“There is nothing on the horizon for us,” he said.

The gloomy mood has been compounded by Israeli independence day parties. Last week, Israel celebrated the Hebrew calendar anniversary of its May 14, 1948 founding with fireworks, picnics and air force flyovers. A second round of celebrations followed this week, with the participation of US president George Bush.

Mr Bush, who will address Israel’s parliament today, praised Israel as “our strongest ally and friend in the Middle East”.

Most Palestinians viewed the Bush visit with indifference, according to a poll published by the Arab World For Research & Development, an independent think-tank. Eighty per cent of 1,200 respondents said they did not believe the US president was serious about pushing for a Palestinian state.