Millions of Palestinians are observing the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, an Arabic term meaning “catastrophe,” which marks the mass expulsion and flight of approximately 750,000 Palestinians from their homes during the 1948 conflict surrounding the establishment of Israel. This year’s commemoration occurs as Gaza faces ongoing hardships, with over two million residents currently displaced and confined to less than half of the 40-kilometer coastal strip due to a continued Israeli blockade. The Nakba represents the systematic dispossession and displacement of Palestinians from 1947 to 1949, a period marked by the capture of towns and villages by Zionist paramilitary groups. Historians estimate that around one-third of the Palestinian population at that time was forced from their homes, leading to the depopulation or destruction of more than 400 villages and urban areas to accommodate new Jewish immigrants. Many displaced Palestinians and their descendants continue to reside in refugee camps throughout the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, often preserving symbolic items like keys and deeds to their former homes. The right of return for Palestinian refugees, as outlined in UN General Assembly Resolution 194, remains a crucial and unresolved issue in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Activists and survivors emphasize that the Nakba is viewed not as a singular historical event, but as a continuous process of dispossession, and their commemoration serves as both an act of remembrance and a reaffirmation of their pursuit of justice, return, and self-determination.
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