Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Israeli defense officials believe this year's Nakba Day will be relatively quiet.
The Nakba ("catastrophe" in Arabic) refers to the displacement of Palestinian refugees during Israel's War of Independence. Nakba Day, commemorating this event, is marked on May 15, which was the first full day of Israeli independence in 1948.
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With that, the Palestinian Authority's security apparatuses were preparing in increased numbers to expand their deployment to prevent clashes between Palestinian protesters and IDF forces.
The PA on Thursday, May 15, will hold a limited rally in Ramallah to mark the day. PA President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to deliver a speech, while Arab towns and villages across the West Bank and Gaza hold commemorative ceremonies and rallies.
In the West Bank, Palestinians were also expected to mark the day with a 72-second-long siren, representing the 72 years of national mourning, launching balloons in the colors of the Palestinian flag, and hanging black mourning flags.
Were it not for the killing of IDF Staff Sgt. Amit Ben-Yigal, who was killed overnight Monday during a raid on a terrorist hub in the West Bank village of Yabed, and the death of a Palestinian teen in Hebron in ensuing clashes with IDF troops, defense officials believe this year's Nakba Day would have been among the quietest, if not the quietest, up to now.
