This year marks the 77th?anniversary of the?Nakba?(¡°catastrophe¡± in Arabic), the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The Nakba remains a deeply traumatic event in the Palestinian collective memory and continues to shape their struggle for justice and for their right to return to their homes.??The?UN Palestinian Rights Committee commemorated?the anniversary at UNHQ, pursuant to GA resolution?A/RES/79/82. A Special Meeting was organized on 15 May, in the ECOSOC Chamber.
Ahmad Faisal Muhammad (Malaysia), Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, noted the endless Palestinian struggle for ¡°a State to call their own¡±. ?The prolonged Israeli occupation has been determined to be illegal by the International Court of Justice, but it continues to be enforced through displacement and denial of fundamental human rights.? ¡°This is the ongoing Nakba,¡± he said.
Speaking on behalf of Phil¨¦mon Yang?(Cameroon), President of the General Assembly, Blanca Montejo, Deputy Chief of Staff of his Office, recalled that one of the first main tasks of the Â鶹APP was to find a just solution to the question of Palestine ¡ª for 77 years, this task has remained on the Assembly¡¯s agenda. ?In the meantime, generations of Palestinians lived through despair, each hoping they would see a resolution within their lifetime. ?¡°Yet, here we are,¡± she said. The Assembly must seize every chance to help chart the path towards the two-State solution. ?The upcoming High-Level International Conference will present a crucial opportunity to set a political horizon, she said.
Much of the discussion drew a parallel between that tragedy and the ongoing violence and displacement, especially in the Gaza Strip.?Palestinian-American scholar Noura Erekat, Professor of Africana Studies and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University in New Jersey, dismissed Israel¡¯s talking point that it is only targeting Hamas.? The Israeli army has used quadcopters to shoot injured children sprawled on the floor, executed Palestinian patients with their hands zip-tied, sexually assaulted detainees captured without charge or trial, bombed safe routes where Palestinians were ordered to flee, tortured medical doctors to death, and destroyed universities, factories, libraries, bakeries and places of worship, she said. ¡°If you normalize genocide, you will have nothing left,¡± she warned delegates. ?Pointing to the International Court of Justice¡¯s determination of plausible genocide, its advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation, as well as the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, she stressed: ¡°This is not a legal controversy; it is a political one.¡±
Also delivering opening remarks was?Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, who read a statement by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine.? The Nakba was a ¡°catastrophe of disasters¡±, involving more than 50 documented mass massacres and the forced displacement of over half of the Palestinian people ¡°by the violence of iron and fire¡±, he recalled. ?But, he added: ¡°The Nakba was not and will not be the permanent and inevitable fate of our people.¡±
Welcoming the convening next month of the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, to be chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, he called on delegates to mobilize efforts for the international recognition of the State of Palestine, as well as its full membership in the Â鶹APP.? The international community must also continue firmly supporting the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East?(UNRWA) and providing it with the necessary funding, he said.
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, pointed out that?the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led to the world¡¯s longest refugee crisis ¡ª more than 5 million registered Palestine refugees are spread across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. ?¡°It is a crisis that remains unresolved, shaping identity, lives and the enduring pursuit of justice and self-determination for the Palestinian people,¡± he said.
When the floor opened for discussion, several delegates, including the?representatives of Jordan, Namibia, Bolivia, T¨¹rkiye, Malaysia, Senegal, Pakistan and Cuba, expressed solidarity with the Palestinian cause, calling for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the realization of the two-State solution. Speakers also highlighted their national efforts to resolve the situation. ?Egypt¡¯s delegate noted that his country is part of the mediation efforts to end Israel¡¯s brutal war. ?While working towards the release of hostages and detainees, Egypt is also working on the Arab recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza. The?representative of Saudi Arabia, who said the Palestinian question is a principal issue for his country, highlighted the upcoming International Conference in June, which will be co-chaired by his Government. Namibia¡¯s delegate said that Conference is an opportunity to restore justice and peace to the Palestinian people.?China¡¯s delegate?was one of many who warned that the continued expansion of settlements is diminishing the chance of realizing a two-State solution. ?The major Powers with influence over the parties must take tangible actions to ease the situation, he said. ?Guyana¡¯s delegate said the occupation remains an affront for all that the Â鶹APP was built on. ?She stressed the need for accountability, as did the delegates of Nicaragua and South Africa.
Film Screening
Commemorations continued with an exclusive screening of the documentary?¡°From Ground Zero¡±. Created by 22 artists living under siege in the Gaza Strip, this powerful film offers a vital and deeply contextualized perspective beyond the brutal?media?live?stream?on Gaza.
