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Nakba Day

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Nakba Day (Arabic: Yawm al-nakba — 15 May) is the annual day of commemoration by the Palestinian people, inaugurated in 1998 by Yasser Arafat, of the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Events in the British Mandate of Palestine prior to Israel's declaration of independence, the invasion of the armies of the Arab states into Israel, and the consequent 1948 Arab-Israeli War, resulted in the flight or expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians refugees from Israel, and the abandonment and destruction of 418 Palestinian villages. The Palestinians call these events al-Nakba ("the catastrophe").

Israel's independence was declared on the evening of May 14, 1948, and the next day, May 15, armies of five Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, and Lebanon) invaded the Jewish state. Every year, on the 5th of Iyyar of the Hebrew calendar (which can fall between 15 April and 15 May) Israelis celebrate Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzma'ut). While Nakba Day is commemorated on May 15 in keeping with the Gregorian calendar, Palestinians and their supporters around the world coordinate some Nakba Day events to coincide with the celebrations of the independence of Israel. Because of the differences between the Jewish and the Gregorian calendars Independence Day and Nakba Day only coincide every 19 years.

The event is often marked by speeches and rallies in the West Bank, Gaza and in Arab states. In 2006, Israeli Arab member of the Knesset Dr. Azmi Bishara expressed the Palestinian reaction to celebrations marking Independence Day and the formation of Israel in the newspaper Maariv: "Independence Day is your holiday, not ours, for us this is the day of our disaster".

Chronology

  • 1998 — Up to one million participate in marches and other events.
  • 1999 — Israeli general election coincides with the commemoration. Palestinian declaration of independence postponed.
  • 2000 — Violent clashes on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Demonstrators demand the release of 1600 jailed Palestinians.
  • 2001 — Israel carries out missile and artillery attacks on targets across Gaza on the eve of Nakba Day. The risk of attacks by Palestinians reduces Jewish travel between Israel and the West Bank. At least four Palestinians and an Israeli woman killed during widespread violence on the emotionally-charged anniversary.
  • 2002 — Arafat commits to Palestinian reform; protests subdued.
  • 2003 — Israeli army launches a large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip. Palestine Solidarity Campaign organises march in London attended by 6,000.
  • 2004 — Jews United Against Zionism demonstrate at a rally in Times Square, New York City on May 14, 2004.
  • 2005 — Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa sends message of the League's support. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reports that the Palestinians in Diaspora are estimated at 5 million.
  • 2006 — Residents of Lod ask Police Commander Amichai Eshed to prevent a public observance in the city on May 15th.

See also

References

  1. 58th anniversary of the Palestinian Catastrophe, Al Bawaba, 3 May, 2006.
  2. Rubin, Barry and Rubin, Judith Colp (2003). Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195166892, p. 187.
  3. "In pictures: 'Catastrophe Day' protests". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
  4. Morris, Benny (2003). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521009677, p. 604.
  5. Khalidi, Walid (Ed.). (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington: Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0887282245.
  6. Sheleg, Yair 'Day of the citizen instead of day of the catastrophe', Haaretz, 3 May, 2006.
  7. Jewish Festivals in Israel, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed 3 May, 2006.
  8. Palestinians to mourn Israel's founding by Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily, May 12, 2005.
  9. Palestinians mourn Israel's founding y by Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily, May 16, 2005.
  10. Weekly Review of the Arab Press in Israel, Arab Association for Human Rights, April 30, 2001.
  11. Hertz-Larowitz, Rachel (2003). Arab and Jewish Youth in Israel: Voicing National Injustice on Campus. Journal of Social Issues, 59(1), 51-66.
  12. Bowker, Robert (2003). Palestinian Refugees: Mythology, Identity, and the Search for Peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 1588262022, p. 96.
  13. Maariv article (in Hebrew).
  14. 'The Palestinian nakba at 58', Bahrain News Agency, 1 May, 2006.
  15. Palestinians protest, National Public Radio, 14 May, 1998.
  16. Analysis: Why Palestinians are angry, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2000.
  17. Violence erupts in West Bank, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2000.
  18. Palestinian Shootings, National Public Radio, 14 May, 2000.
  19. Israel - Palestinian Violence, National Public Radio, 15 May, 2000.
  20. Israel strikes against Palestinians, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2001.
  21. Flashback: Palestine's catastrophe, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2001.
  22. West Bank Visits, National Public Radio, 14 May, 2001.
  23. Bloodshed on Israel anniversary, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2001.
  24. In pictures: 'Catastrophe Day' protests, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2001.
  25. Arafat commits to Palestinian reform, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2002.
  26. Israeli tanks pour into Gaza, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2003.
  27. Pro-Palestine rally in London, BBC News Online, 15 May, 2003.
  28. Al-Nakba Day Rally in Times Square, 2004.
  29. Moussa expresses Arab League solidarity with Palestinians on Nakba Day, Arabic News, 16 May, 2005.
  30. On Al Nakba Day; the Palestinians in Diaspora Estimated To About 5 Millions, Palestinian National Authority State Information Service, 15 May, 2005.
  31. Israeli Arabs Plan Mass-Mourning of Israel's Founding in Lod, Arutz Sheva, 7 May, 2006.
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