Nakba

The Nakba—meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic—generally refers to the [forced displacement] of over 800,000 Palestinians[1] and depopulation of 500+ Palestinian towns and villages[2] before and after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. This mass displacement is described as “ethnic cleansing” by academics including Israeli historian Ilan Pappe.[3] In fact, forced displacement of Palestinians began during the British Mandate period,[4] while many refer to an “ongoing Nakba”[5] to describe the continuing displacement of Palestinians by the Israeli state up to the present day. Today an estimated half of all Palestinians around the world are descended from those displaced in the Nakba,[6] and are denied the [right to return] by Israel.

Sources

1. UNCCP. 1961. Question of Compensation. p11
2. S. Abu Sitta. 2010. Atlas of Palestine 1917-1966. p106-115
3. See Ilan Pappe. 2007. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
4. Badil. 2016. Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. p xxix
5. J. Massad. 2008. Resisting the Nakba
6. 6.14m out of 12.10m in 2014 according to Badil. 2016. Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. p32