Thousands of Gazans today called for a right of return of refugees, as they marked the 62nd anniversary of the Naqba—the ‘catastrophe’ of the creation of Israel which sparked the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.<br/> <br/>Some 6,000 people took part in two demonstrations, one at Jabaliya refugee camp organised by the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip and another in the Nuseirat camp staged by the Islamic Jihad faction.<br/> <br/>Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat meanwhile said that Palestinians are enduring a continuing ‘catastrophe’, 62 years after the May 1948 creation of Israel.<br/> <br/>In a message to mark Naqba Day, he insisted that the refugees, who together with their descendants now number 4.7 million, have the right to return.<br/> <br/>Naqba Day marks the anniversary of the ‘catastrophe’ Palestinians say unfolded with the May 1948 creation of the state of Israel, when an estimated 700,000 Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes.<br/><br/>