Palestinians rally in West Bank to mark Nakba Day
Palestinians have taken to the streets of the occupied West Bank to mark the 77th anniversary of Nakba (Catastrophe) Day.
It marks the 1948 forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in historical Palestine as Israel proclaimed its illegal existence.
On Wednesday, Palestinians rallied in the province of Ramallah and chanted, “We will not leave, Palestine is for the Palestinians”, stressing their right to return to the areas from which they were forced to leave in 1948 and their refusal of all schemes to displace them.
Similar rallies also took place in Tulkarm and other Palestinian provinces on the eve of Nakba Day.
Nakba Day is commemorated on May 15 every year, marking the day after Israel declared its existence in 1948. That year also saw a war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states over the control of Palestine, during which some 700,000 Palestinians were driven out of their homes and hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed.
According to Mohammed Alian, the coordinator of the “Nakba Day” commemoration events, the activities will continue tomorrow and upcoming days.
The 77th anniversary of Nakba Day coincides with Israel’s intensified attacks in the West Bank and the regime’s genocidal war in Gaza.
Since a ceasefire in Gaza was announced in January, Israel has intensified its attacks in Tulkarm, Jenin and other parts of the occupied West Bank.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been displaced from refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarm.
In March, the regime broke the ceasefire, while it proceeded with its large-scale military raids in the occupied West Bank.
Israel launched the campaign of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. It has killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians there so far.
Late last month, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that at least 94 percent of the victims of the regime’s war on Gaza are civilians. The Israeli military officially acknowledged to Israeli outlet HaMakom HaKhi Ham that most of the casualties in Gaza were civilians, but put the toll lower: “over 80%” of those killed in Gaza since March 18.
