Israeli forces faced off with Palestinian stone-throwers in the West Bank during the annual Nakba Day protests over the "catastrophe" that befell the Palestinians in 1948. At Beitunia checkpoint near Ramallah, youths hurled stones at troops, who fired tear gas, metal pellets and rubber bullets in a bid to break up the demonstration. Many protesters could be seen with blood on their faces as they waved black flags and roared angry slogans. Clashes also broke out at Qalandiya checkpoint south of Ramallah, where youths threw stones at Israeli troops, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them. A source at Ramallah's government hospital said that 17 people had been injured by rubber bullets, 15 at Beitunia and another two at Qalandia. There were also reports of clashes in Hebron and at Rachel's Tomb on the edge of Bethlehem, where the Israeli military said 200 protesters confronted troops. Demonstrations also took place at the nearby Ofer military prison and Qalandia checkpoint where there were some minor clashes. A mass rally is scheduled to take place in the Gaza Strip, with smaller protests to be held elsewhere in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, which represents Palestinian communities in Israel, has called for a general strike and for Palastinians to visit the sites of former Palestinian villages. More than 760,000 Palestinians, estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants, fled or were driven out of their homes. About 160,000 Palestinians stayed behind, and now number about 1.3 million, or 20 per cent of the population of Israel. (References for text: Agencies, Aljazeera. Photo: Activestills/file)