RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Fatah's youth organization on Tuesday urged young Palestinians to join upcoming peaceful rallies across the West Bank to commemorate independence day.

Late President Yasser Arafat declared the independence of Palestine on Nov. 15, 1988, when he was based in Algeria, and the anniversary coincides with national youth week.

Fatah Youth said rallies would begin Wednesday, and protesters would peacefully block bypass roads connecting Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The rallies are "part of Fatah's participation in national youth week, commemorating the martyrdom of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the declaration of independence," Fatah Youth said in a statement.

The protests will also encourage young people to participate in nonviolent popular resistance "until the Palestinian people gain all their legitimate rights including an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" and the right of refugees to return to their land, Fatah Youth said.

At a news conference in Ramallah on Monday, the head of the committee for national youth week Jibreel Rajoub encouraged Palestinians to take to the streets with Palestinian flags.

"What we are seeking through these activities is to strengthen popular resistance and national unity in order to reflect how our ambitions contradict with the occupation indicating that it is time this occupation disappeared," Rajoub told reporters.