Palestinians are marking the Nakba or Catastrophe. <br /> <br />It is a day they mourn the loss of their homeland and the displacement of their people by the creation of the State of Israel. <br /><br />There has been minor scuffles between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in Qalandiya, <br /> <br />The crowd is expected to get larger through the course of the day. <br /> <br />More than 760 thousand Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in 1948 - their descendants now number around 4 point 7 million.<br /> <br />Around 160 thousand Palestinians stayed behind. Their descendants - known now as Palestinian Israelis - make up 20 percent of Israel's population.<br /> <br />Last year on Nakba Day Israeli soldiers opened fire on protesters from Lebanon and Syria as they tried to breach a fence and enter Israel.
