OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) Thousands of Israel’s Arab citizens on Tuesday marked the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” that attended the Jewish state’s creation, when some 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Israelis meanwhile fired up barbecues in packed campgrounds and beaches across the country as they celebrated the 62nd anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state.
The air force and navy held displays, including a helicopter over flight of the president’s residence in Jerusalem.
President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and chief of staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi staged a singalong of Israeli songs at the presidential residence.
Celebrations kicked off at sundown on Monday with fireworks in honor of Israel’s founding on May 14, 1948, corresponding this year to April 20, according to the Jewish calendar.
The occupied West Bank was sealed off from Israel and annexed Arab east Jerusalem for the duration of Israel’s only secular public holiday.
“Unbreakable bond”
U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement to honor the anniversary and affirm his country’s “unbreakable bond” with Israel.
He said he looked forward “to continuing our efforts with Israel to achieve comprehensive peace and security in the region, including a two-state solution” with the Palestinians.
“We once again honor the extraordinary achievements of the people of Israel, and their deep and abiding friendship with the American people,” he said.
Ties between Israel and its main ally have been deeply strained as Netanyahu has rebuffed U.S. and Palestinian demands for a halt to settlement construction in annexed Arab east Jerusalem.
Meanwhile in a veiled warning to Obama, Israel’s foreign minister said that any move to impose a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians would lead to greater conflict.
“Any attempt to force a solution on the parties without establishing the foundation of mutual trust will only deepen the conflict,” Avigdor Lieberman told the assembled diplomatic core celebrating Independence Day.
Though he made no reference to the United States, the remark appeared to be a response to recent speculation in Washington that Obama may consider proposing a peace settlement in the absence of a negotiated deal between the Palestinians and Israel.
Lieberman, who leads a far-right, pro-settler party in the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that before negotiating a final settlement of the 62-year-old conflict, it would be necessary first to establish “a new reality” in which Israel enjoys security, the Palestinians greater prosperity and both sides more stability.
He also told the assembled ambassadors in the grounds of the presidential residence of Jerusalem that Israel would never give up its control of all of Jerusalem, a city at the heart of the conflict.
Source: Al Arabia
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