Damascus  - Thousands of Syrians staged protests on Thursday to mourn the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Israel, which Arabs call the Palestinian Naqba.

Since the early hours of Thursday, Damascus's streets were crowded with protestors, holding banners and chanting slogans against what they consider to be Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Demonstrations deplored the policies of Israel and the United States in Palestine and stressed the role of Syria in the conflict.

Arabs mourn what they call the 1948 catastrophe when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lost their homeland and the state of Israel was established.

The Islamic Jihad, the Islamic movement of Hamas and the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine called for an end to the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and urged the Palestinian resistance not to surrender to the Israeli forces.

High-ranking Syrian officials and members of the Baath party have taken part in the demonstrations, which took place in several Syrian cities. (dpa)