Nakba Day Commemorated

Nakba Day Commemorated Across the Globe 

by PalestineChronicle.com

May 15 2017

People across the world are commemorating the Nakba Day which marks the anniversary of the forcible eviction of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland by Israelis in 1948.

The Day of Catastrophe is officially marked every year on May 15, but the occasion this year coincides with a hunger strike being observed by more than 1,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

(Photo: MEMO)

Some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes during the 1948 war. Today, more than 7 million Palestinian refugees are living in exile, while 1.8 million Palestinians are living in the world’s largest open-air prison in the Gaza Strip.

Ahead of the anniversary, the besieged Gaza Strip and several parts of the world witnessed protests against the Israeli oppression and occupation which has continued for decades.

Hani Islayim, a senior Hamas leader, said the march aimed at telling “hypocrites” that “we are staying in Palestine” to end the Israeli occupation.

“On the 69th anniversary, we say that the land is ours, al-Quds (Jerusalem) is ours and Palestine is ours,” he said.

“If some people have forgotten our cause, we say that we haven’t forgotten and the occupation will be forced out of our land soon, God willing, and Palestine will stay Islamic and Arab,” Islayim added.

Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti urged Palestinians to carry out acts of “civil disobedience” to commemorate the Nakba Day. He also appealed to Fatah and Hamas to enter into a national reconciliation agreement.

Elsewhere across the world, people rallied in Berlin in remembrance of the Nakba Day. Protesters also gathered outside the Israeli consulate in the Canadian city of Toronto in support of the hunger-striking Palestinians in Israeli jails.

(Press TV, PC, Social Media)