Sunday 17 May 2009

As Palestinians mark the Nakba, Occupation places the West Bank under siege

As Palestinians mark the Nakba, Occupation places the West Bank under siege


Saed Bannoura - IMEMC

Saturday May 16, 2009

The Israeli Authorities imposed a strict siege on the Palestinian territories as the Palestinians are marking their 61 anniversary of Diaspora, disposition and Nakba, as they were displaced and force out of their homeland during the creation of Israel on historic Palestinian land.

The siege would continue for 48 hours and is set to be lifted after midnight on Saturday.

Palestinians in different parts of the country and in dozens of refugee camps in Palestine and in exile marked the Nakba day and expressed determination to their internationally guaranteed right of return.

Political and public figures issued statements confirming the Palestinian determination to remain steadfast and resist the occupation until achieving all of their rights.

Over 531 Palestinian villages were attacked and displaced during the Nakba and over 800.000 Palestinians became refugees.

Palestinian refugees were forced out of their villages on different stages, Researcher Dr. Salman Abu Sitta said in a report, published several years ago, that there were three stages of Palestinian disposition;

1- During the last stages of the British Mandate, and before the creation of Israel, Israeli armed groups displaced 213 villages, 413.794 (%52) refugees.

2- During the war in 1948, 264 villages 339.272 (%42) Palestinians were displaced.

3- After the truce, and in different dates, 54 villages, 52.001 (6%) Palestinians were displaced.

A total of 531 villages, 805.067 refugees were displaced in total. Right now the number of refugees is over 5 million.

The refugees were hosted in refugee camps in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Libya and in a number of other Arab countries, North and South America, and the rest of the world.

Link: www.imemc.org/article/60428

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