While celebrations have taken place in Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state, Palestinians know the day as al-Nakba, or "the catastrophe".
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine between a Jewish and an Arab state. Jerusalem was placed under an international regime.
The Jews agreed but the Arabs did not. They called the declaration of the state of Israel "al-Nakba", the catastrophe.
Fighting ensued but when an armistice was declared in 1949, the Israelis had extended their territory, leaving Jordan with the West Bank, Egypt with Gaza and Jerusalem divided.
Thousands of Palestinians had fled or had been driven out. Today, some 4.5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants are scattered across the region.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas greets fellow Palestinians during a ceremony to commemorate the Nakba, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Palestinian women cook traditional food during celebrations to mark the anniversary in Gaza City.
A Palestinian woman in the Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza,Ìýholds a sign with the name of her former village written in Arabic.
These Palestinians - some wearing traditional Arabic dress -Ìýmark the event next to a section of Israel"s barrier in the West Bank village of Abu Dis near Jerusalem.
During one commemoration on Saturday in the West Bank village of Beit Anan,ÌýPalestinian boys held portraits of their late leader Yasser Arafat.
