It was a day of grief for Palestinians, who refer to the founding of Israel as the Catastrophe, or al-Nakba.

Thousands took to the streets to commemorate those exiled or killed in the conflict that followed the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. More than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled, their property was expropriated and they have not been allowed to return.

Nearly 5 million Palestinians and their descendants still live in makeshift refugee camps across the neighbouring region.

and the world stands by and watches...

talking of balloons, does anyone know if they actually found the "flying priest"?

No, they didn't find him. The navy stopped looking after a week.