Palestinians got together in the city of Ramallah Wednesday to commemorate what they call "Nakba," which translates to "catastrophe," and it marks the day the state of Israel was instated in 1948.
In the West Bank city located about 10 miles from Jerusalem, they listened to their leaders touch on an oft-spoken promise that one day, the displaced people would unite and return once more, the Washington Post reported.
On this 65th anniversary of the nakba, most events went par for the course: citizens in Hebron, Nalus and Jenin belted traditional folk songs, in the areas occupied by Israeli forces, Palestinian teens threw rocks at soldiers, who responded with blasts of tear gas.
One happenstance that was not like the others was the small pool of Israeli journalists covering events like the nakba celebration.
Palestinian journalists are working to make it more difficult for Israeli reporters to report on events in the occupied areas of the country. Israeli media coverage has been outlawed in the Gaza Strip area since 2007.
A petition signed by 200 Palestinian journalists that began circling in April pushed officials to curb Israeli reporters from gaining access in the West Bank, as they say Israel is responsible for painting excessively negative pictures of Palestine to the media worldwide.
The campaign could mean that members of the Israeli press might be asked to leave Palestinian news conferences or questioned by Palestinian officials in the West Bank if they do not apply for a press pass.
Meanwhile, journalists from Palestine have released a list of Israeli supporters and coworkers who have gotten their photos taken and been posted on social media sites as "collaborators."
This could create problems for two entities that refuse to learn and accept anything besides stereotypes about one another, said co-director for Search for Common Ground group Suheir Rasul.
"There's now a generation of Israelis and Palestinians who don't even know what the other looks like," she told the Washington Post. "All Israelis are soldiers or Orthodox Jews in black hats, and all Palestinians are construction workers or terrorists."
