PRESS RELEASE
76 YEARS OF THE NAKBA: THE REVOLUTION OF MEMORY AND THE PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE
Today, on another anniversary of the 1948 Nakba, we remember the lasting impact of this tragic event and its inextricable relationship with the current situation in Palestine. The Nakba, an Arabic term meaning “catastrophe,” refers to the forced exodus of approximately 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. This exodus marked the beginning of a prolonged and cruel conflict that has left a refugee community of approximately six million people, many of whom live in deplorable conditions in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the occupied West Bank.
Since then, Palestinians who remained in the territory that became Israel have faced decades of discrimination and restrictions, subjected to martial law until 1966. Today, Palestinians in the territories occupied since 1967 live under an oppressive regime of military occupation that severely restricts their rights and freedoms, affecting all aspects of their daily life. The omnipresence of checkpoints, the separation wall and restrictive policies continue to limit mobility and access to essential resources, exacerbating tensions and systematic human rights violations.
Since 1948, there have been multiple attempts to achieve peace, including the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. However, the peace process has been stalled for years, with repeated failures in negotiations. In Gaza, refugees and their descendants make up three-quarters of the population. Israel's refusal to allow the return of these refugees remains an insurmountable obstacle in the peace talks, which collapsed more than 15 years ago.
Today, Gaza is facing an even more devastating crisis, with an Israeli offensive that has caused the death of more than 35,000 Palestinians (70% of them children, women and the elderly), injured more than 78,000 and displaced 1.7 million people, many of them multiple times; the same people who are exposed to diseases, dehydration and acute malnutrition, among other ailments, due to the lack of humanitarian aid, whose entry to the Gaza Strip has been blocked by illegal Israeli settlers and the Israeli Government.
The devastation in Gaza is immeasurable, with entire neighborhoods destroyed and $18.5 billion worth of damage. The UN estimates that it will take until 2040 to rebuild the destroyed homes. The Palestinians fear that the scale of the current destruction will prevent them from returning to their homes, thus perpetuating their situation of displacement and endless suffering.
This anniversary of the Nakba forces us to reflect on how the events of 1948 continue to resonate today, affecting the lives of millions of Palestinians, in the face of the indifference and passivity of international organizations, and keeping alive the complex and painful issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conflict is nothing more than a tool of the imperialist interests of the United States and its allies.
Despite the ongoing crimes of occupation against the Palestinian people, their resistance and conviction leads them to persist and fight to achieve the end of the occupation. On this day of commemoration, it is crucial to remember the importance of human rights and the search for a just and lasting solution; a solution that grants the People and State of Palestine their full sovereignty and self-determination, on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Today more than ever, it is vital that the international community wake up from its lethargy and act decisively in support of justice and peace for Palestine.