Palestinians residing in Europe gather for mass event in Denmark; Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Salah tells participants their homes in Israel await them

Thousands of Palestinians residing in Europe attended a rally in the Danish capital of Copenhagen Saturday marking 60 years since a large part of the Palestinian population was expelled from, or left the newly-founded Israel during the war between Israel and the Arabs in 1948.

The event, which was held in Europe for the sixth consecutive year, was organized by the Palestinian Committee in Europe and al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition.

"Your homes await you," Head of the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, told participants during the rally. "The mosques and churches, hyssop and peppermint herbs await you as well. They symbolize the roots and identity, the history and culture, they are our future."

Salah added: "We have come to deliver a message of yearning and love from each grain of sand in the Galilee and the Negev, the Triangle and the Coastal areas, and Jerusalem. This grain of sand tells you - don't leave me, I expect to see you very soon at the dawn of the refugees' return."

Salah also attended a prayer at one of Denmark's biggest mosques, and told worshippers: "The city of Jerusalem is calling you to salvage it from the Judaization it is undergoing and from what the Israeli government is doing."