Brussels, May 11 (RHC)-- A group of people riding bicycles have held a protest rally in the de facto capital of the European Union, Brussels, to mark the 67th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe Day), when Israeli forces displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their land.

During the rally, organized by non-governmental organizations, the protesters rode a 25-kilometer distance in the Belgian capital city to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

Carrying pro-Palestinian placards, the protesters also gathered in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean district north of Brussels and chanted slogans in support of the Palestinians. They also called on the Belgian government to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

Palestinians mourn May 15 as the day of Nakba. More than 760,000 Palestinians -- now estimated to number nearly five million with their descendants -- were driven out of their homes on May 15, 1948.

Since 1948, 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.