Dr. Erakat on the 62nd Nakba Anniversary: ''The Catastrophe continues’’

On the 62nd anniversary of the Nakba, Dr. Saeb Erakat, Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said ''The Catastrophe continues.

 A solution based on UNGA Resolution 194 for the Palestinian refugees is a must.

The creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as its capital is a must.

 Releasing all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails is a must. Solving all permanent status issues is a must.’’

 Dr. Erakat said the international community must draw important lessons from the Nakba and make of this anniversary a date where the world upholds international law.

'No state is above the law’’ said Dr. Erakat, calling on the international community to end Israeli belligerence and disregard for international law.

Sixty two years ago, more than 726,000 thousand Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes and lands to make way for the state of Israel.

They have been prevented from returning ever since.

Hundreds of Palestinian villages and neighborhoods were destroyed.

Today, over 7 million Palestinian refugees live in exile.

Of those, more than 1.3 million Palestinians continue to live in 58 UNRWA-administered refugee camps.

“In other conflicts, refugee rights have been honored and respected, including the right of return, restitution and compensation.

In stark contrast, however, Israel refuses to even recognize the Palestinian right of return thus continuing to deny the refugees’ basic rights.

Dr. Erakat reiterated that the Palestinian Nakba continues to this day, as Israeli practices and policies of evictions, home demolitions, deportations, settlement activities, wall building, as well as closure and siege in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip generate new waves of displaced persons.

He called on the international community to assume its responsibility in protecting the tenets and principles of international law by pressuring Israel to immediately end these policies.