A paratrooper prepares to land on the beach during aerial display to mark  60th anniversary of Israel, on beach front in Tel Aviv, 08 May 2008

Celebrations to mark Israel's 60th anniversary continue Thursday, with military displays taking place throughout the country.

Israel's air force is holding air shows over 22 cities, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa.  Israeli paratroopers are performing in various cities, and Israel's navy is putting on a boat display along the Mediterranean coastline.

Israel started the holiday Wednesday evening after a day of remembrance for Israel's fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

In a speech to the nation, Israeli parliament speaker Dalia Itzik called Israel an "extraordinary success story" that Israelis had built "with their own hands."

Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, and has since fought six wars with neighboring Arab states. 

Palestinian Yamnah Ibrahim Harab, 95, reaches to hold the key of the house which her family had to leave in a village near Tiberias, northern Israel in 1948, from a relative in the West Bank refugee camp of Kalandia between Jerusalem and Ramallah, 06 May 2008

Palestinians mark the day of the country's founding as the Nakba, or "the Catastrophe."  

Since 2000, Israel has been battling a second Palestinian uprising against its occupation of lands captured in the 1967 Six-Day war.

Israel is marking its 60th anniversary with uncertainty about the prospects for regional peace.

Independence day events are being held under tight security due to warnings of potential terrorist attacks.  Israel has also sealed its borders with Palestinian territories during the celebration.

Israel marks its independence day according to the Jewish calendar.