May 15 in History
1948 – The permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people, one day after Zionist forces establish the State of Israel triggering the first Arab-Israeli war, is observed as Nakba Day
Nakba Day, also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which comprised the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people, is generally commemorated on this day, the Gregorian calendar date of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. For Palestinians, it is an annual day of commemoration of the displacement that preceded and followed Israel’s establishment.
The day was officially inaugurated by Yasser Arafat in 1998, though the date had been unofficially used for protests since as early as 1949.
The term Nakba, is used to describe both the events of 1948 and the ongoing persecution, displacement, and occupation of the Palestinians, both in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as in Palestinian refugee camps throughout the region.
The foundational events of the Nakba took place during and shortly after the 1948 Palestine war, including 78% of Mandatory Palestine being declared as Israel, the expulsion and flight of 700,000 Palestinians, the related depopulation and destruction of over 500 Palestinian villages by Zionist militias and subsequent geographical erasure, the denial of the Palestinian right of return, the creation of permanent Palestinian refugees and the “shattering of Palestinian society”. The expulsion of the Palestinians has since been described by some historians as ethnic cleansing.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption – Palestinian refugees in 1948 – Fred Csasznik
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.