Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Washington to mark a painful present and past

By ASHRAF KHALIL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have rallied within sight of the U.S. Capitol, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and voicing criticism of the Israeli and American governments. The demonstrators marked a painful present — namely the war in Gaza. And they marked a painful past — the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from what’s is now Israel when the state was created in 1948. About 400 demonstrators braved steady rains to rally on the National Mall on the 76th anniversary of what’s called the Nakba. That’s the Arabic word for catastrophe. There were calls in support of Palestinian rights and an immediate end to Israeli military operations in Gaza.