Earth Day Celebrations to Take Place at Beaufort Castle on March 30

The Earth Day celebrations that are set for March 30 will take place at the Beaufort, or Shqeef, Castle in southern Lebanon, reported the National News Agency on Saturday.

Abdul Malek Sukkariyeh, the media coordinator of the rally, announced that the Lebanese army had officially permitted the staging of event.

The rally, held by pro-Syrian Lebanese parties and Palestinian factions, will head towards the castle in the Nabatiyeh region.

Sukkariyeh hoped that the “participants, who come from throughout Lebanon and the Palestinian refugee camps, would commit to only lifting the Lebanese and Palestinian flags.”

He added that those who would lift party or political banners would be held responsible for their actions.

He also urged “all concerned sides to act responsibly on this occasion and only keep Palestine’s interest at heart.”

In May 2011, clashes erupted between demonstrators in Lebanon who had staged a rally towards the Lebanese-Israeli border in commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba Day.

Eleven Palestinians were killed and 112 were wounded at clashes at Maroun al-Ras and the Golan Heights when Israeli troops opened fire at demonstrators demanding the right to return to their homeland.