Milan, September 21 (RHC)-- Hundreds of Italian people have staged a protest rally against Israel's presence at an exposition in the city of Milan. Waving Palestinian flags, the demonstrators rallied towards the city center on Saturday and chanted anti-Israeli slogans such as "Netanyahu, terrorist empire" and "Against imperialism and its violence, resistance now and forever."

The angry protesters called Israel's participation in the Expo Milano 2015 "unacceptable." Francesco Giordano, an organizer with a local Palestinian advocacy group, told reporters: "We decided to hold this protest to criticize the expo and especially Israel's presence at this event, which we believe is unacceptable."

"We want free children. We've had enough of cemeteries, prisons. We want freedom and a normal life," said Sara, a Palestinian woman living in Italy.

Over 750,000 Palestinians -- now estimated to number nearly five million with their descendants -- were driven out of their homes by Israeli forces on May 15, 1948.

Since then, the Israeli regime has denied Palestinian refugees the right to return despite United Nations' resolutions and international law that uphold people's right to return to their homelands.

The Israeli regime currently holds over 7,000 Palestinians captive, many of them without charge or trial.