Anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba

15 May is commemorated each year by Palestinians as the anniversary of the Nakba – or 'catastrophe’ – when over 726,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled or fled their homes during the violence surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948. All became refugees overnight.

“The Palestinian Nakba is important to all Palestinians no matter where they live. It is a defining moment in the collective history of our people, and seminal to the history of the Palestinian national movement,” Dr Erakat said.

“Its legacy lives on among the 7 million Palestinian refugees who are today scattered across the occupied Palestinian territory, throughout the Middle East, and beyond.”

“UN General Assembly Resolution 194 affirmed the right of return, restitution and compensation for Palestinian refugees. It remains the internationally accepted framework for addressing Palestinian refugee rights, and the benchmark for reaching a negotiated agreement on resolving the Palestinian refugee issue.”

Dr Erakat said that sixty-one years later, the Palestinian Nakba had not ended.

“Thousands of Palestinians continue to be displaced and uprooted from their homes as a result of long-standing Israeli policies. This includes forced evictions and Palestinian home demolitions, ID confiscations and residency revocations, deportations, the ongoing encroachment of illegal Israeli settlements, and the construction of Israel’s Wall,” Dr Erakat said.

“In particular, Israel has dramatically stepped up its campaign against Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem, where its main goal is to drain East Jerusalem of its Palestinian population and change the geographic and demographic character of the city.”