A date forever inked in the Palestinian memory for generations. Palestinians refer to it as ‘Al Nakba’, which literally translates as ‘The catastrophe’. It refers to the mass exodus of at least 750,000 Palestinians from Palestine. Though most believe this event began in 1948, in fact, Al Nakba began decades earlier.
In November 1947, the United Nations decided to partition British-mandated Palestine into two states – one Arab and one Jewish. The UN designated Jewish State still contained a substantial minority of Palestinians despite increased immigration from Europe to Palestine under British rule.
In a premeditated military campaign, the Zionist militia killed thousands of Palestinians, destroyed hundreds of villages, forcibly expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and captured 78 per cent of Palestine. The remaining 22 per cent was divided into what are now called the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.
In 1949, following the expulsion of Palestinians, the UN founded the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with the aim of relieving destitute Palestinian refugees. Today, there are at least 5.8 million registered Palestinian refugees living in dozens of camps in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Thus, 70 per cent of Gaza residents are originally refugees living in large refugee camps after being expelled from their homeland in 1948. Some people who lived through 1948 Nakba are reliving it again amid the Gaza war that broke out in October 2023 following Hamas’s unprecedented attacks on Israeli settlements.
The images of distressed Palestinian families in Gaza living in makeshift tents, walking miles to flee the bombing while carrying bundles of their belongings, mirror the long-standing images imprinted in Palestinian heritage of ‘Nakba, diaspora, refugee camps, displacement’.
Palestinians in Gaza are enduring worse than the worst event in their recent history, displaced from one place to another under heavy bombardment with nowhere to go to, trapped inside a small area with a dire lack of food and water, the collapse of the healthcare system and repeated electricity and communications blackouts.
The targeting of UN staff and UN facilities and heavy shelling and closure of borders makes it impossible for the UNRWA and other organisations to carry out their relief work and support duties of Palestinians in Gaza.
The recent Israeli right-wing plan to forcibly relocate Gaza residents into a large refugee camp in the Sinai Desert was not accepted by Egypt. Neither has an alternative proposal to divide the residents of Gaza between neighbouring countries (Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey) been agreed to.
Nevertheless, fears persist that mandatory displacement will be extended to Palestinians residing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, forcing them to leave for neighbouring countries – further worsening the refugee crisis and abrogating all efforts towards a two-state solution.
The recognition of a Palestinian State in the UN General Assembly, along with a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages from both sides, are all crucial steps to resolving the ongoing conflict, cycle of violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
70% of Gaza residents live in refugee camps after being expelled from their homeland in 1948
Supporting the peace talks and halting the war would also reduce the high tensions in the region following the Iran-Israel clashes. Thus, the path adopted by EU countries – including Malta, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia – to recognise the State of Palestine on May 21 is an important step in the direction of peace.
Malta has been playing a vital diplomatic role in promoting equality and peace by supporting the Palestinian cause and advocating in the UN General Assembly and the European Council for the recognition of a Palestinian State.
The clear stance Malta recently took at the UNGA 10th Emergency Special Session, voting in favour of the resolution upgrading the rights of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine, highlights Malta’s commitment to the establishment of a viable State of Palestine, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security.
However, the desire for peace warrants more effective work. To stop war in the region and to promote a permanent ceasefire, tangible measures must be implemented to promote freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people.
The disproportionate invasion of Gaza, the carpet bombing and deliberate starvation, the mass graves, the arming and increasing of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and detaining thousands of Palestinians as hostages without trials in inhumane conditions are clear examples of violations of human rights.
Over the past three months following the ICJ ruling, Israel has not abided by international humanitarian law and has continued to commit genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Just recently, on May 10, South Africa submitted an urgent request for additional provisional measures in this regard.
In order to apply necessary pressure on Israel to cease its assault on Rafah – the last ‘safe zone’ for Palestinians in Gaza and home to 1.1 million children – we call for an EU suspension of military aid to Israel.
Illegalising the sale of lethal weapons to Israel is in line with the latest US decision to block a shipment of bombs and weapons to Israel.
Suspending relations, trade and investment with Israeli entities complicit in Israeli occupations of Palestinian territories is in compliance with UN resolution 242, which states that the withdrawal of the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories is a precondition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian State.
Honouring UN resolution 194, which refers to the right of return for Palestinian refugees to their homeland, is also a key to moderating the current apartheid discriminatory system, while promoting the peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.
Yana Mintoff and Dania Haddad are political activists for justice, equality and peace.
Ġustizzjaghallpalestina@gmail.com