Al Nakba

Az 1948-as palesztin katasztrófa
The Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948

The Palestinian Exile, also known as Al Nakba (Arabic for "The Catastrophe"), refers to the ethnic cleansing of native Palestinian peoples ... all » during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

From December 1947 until November 1948, Zionist forces (namely the Irgun, Lehi, Haganah terrorist gangs) expelled approximately 750, 000 indigenous Palestinians--almost 2/3 of the population--from their homes.

Hundreds of Palestinians were also murdered for refusing to leave their homes. The most notable massacre is the Deir Yassin Massacre, in which an estimated 120 Palestinian civilians were brutally murdered by an Irgun-Lehi force. Other massacres include the ones at Sahila (70-80 killed), Lod (250 killed), and Abu Shusha (70 killed). About 40 other massacres were carried out by Zionist forces in just the summer of 1948.

Not only did Zionist forces conduct massacres of Palestinian civilians, rape occured as well. According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, "In Acre four soldiers raped a girl and murdered her and her father. In Jaffa, soldiers of the Kiryati Brigade raped one girl and tried to rape several more. At Hunin, which is in the Galilee, two girls were raped and then murdered. There were one or two cases of rape at Tantura, south of Haifa. There was one case of rape at Qula, in the center of the country. At the village of Abu Shusha, near Kibbutz Gezer [in the Ramle area] there were four female prisoners, one of whom was raped a number of times. And there were other cases. Usually more than one soldier was involved. Usually there were one or two Palestinian girls. In a large proportion of the cases the event ended with murder. Because neither the victims nor the rapists liked to report these events, we have to assume that the dozen cases of rape that were reported, which I found, are not the whole story. They are just the tip of the iceberg."

During Al Nakba, Palestinians were murdered, raped, and ethnically cleansed from their villages. According to Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe, "In a matter of seven months, 531 villages were destroyed and 11 urban neighborhoods emptied."

Palestinians were forced into were forced out of Palestine and into neighboring countries (i.e. Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan), where they lived in refugee camps. Many were also sent to camps in West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Most Palestinian towns were demolished and taken by the newly established Israeli government to make room for new Jewish immigrants. Old Palestinian infrastructures, as well as many ruins dating back from the Canaanites, Romans, Greeks, Crusaders, Arabs, and Ottoman Turks were completely destroyed. This signified the end of historical Palestine and the birth of modern-day Israel.

Al Nakba marked the beginning of the Palestinian refugee crisis. Al Nakba destroyed a thriving and diverse Palestinian society and scattered them into diaspora. According to the UNRWA, the number of registered Palestinian refugees today is approximately 4.5 million. These refugees are dispersed throughout the world, many of which are still living in poverty-stricken refugee camps. Today, the situation keeps worsening and thousands die from malnutrition, contaminated water, or scarce medical supply.

Israel has since refused to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, and has refused to pay them compensation as required by UN Resolution 194, which was passed on December 11, 1948.

Historically, the Israeli government, Israeli schools, and Israeli historians have denied that Al Nakba has occured. However, The New Historians, a loosely-defined group of Israeli historians, have recently published information recognizing the Al Nakba tragedy and controversial views of matters concerning Israel, particularly events concerning its birth in 1948. Much of their material comes from recently declassified Israeli government papers. Leading scholars in this school include Benny Morris, Ilan Pappe, Avi Shlaim, and Tom Segev. Many of their conclusions have been attacked by other scholars and Israeli historians, who continue deny Al Nakba even occured.

60. Al Nakba - 60 éves a Katasztrófa - The Catastrophe 60 years

60 éves lett májusban az „izrael”-nek elnevezett zsidó állam.
60 éve történt és azóta is tart amit a palesztinok Al Nakba-nak neveznek (a katasztrófa).
Ha igazságosak akarunk lenni, és jó ízlés is talán még van a világban, nem ünnepelhetünk más sírja fölött, vagy másnak a lerombolt házának köveiből fölépített „templomunkban”.
Ha a zsidó emlékezik, emlékezik a palesztin is.
Az egyiknek háza fölött csillagos zászló, a másiknak –milliók- feje fölött, azokon a hatvan évvel ezelőtti napokban, a csillagos ég…

Losing her tent in the winter storms of February 1969 was a major tragedy for this displaced Palestinian refugee woman who found shelter in Baqa'a emergency camp, east Jordan.

Credit: UNRWA Photo by Munir Nasr.

Aftermath of the Snow Storms at Baqa'a Agency Camp (1969):

East Jordan

Children lined up at a UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school for Palestinian refugee children in the Jalazoun refugee camp, in the West Bank in 1950. UNRWA was established following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict to carry out relief and works programs for Palestinian refugees and began operations in May 1950. Originally thought to be a temporary organization, in the absence of a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, the General Assembly has since renewed UNRWA's mandate until June 2011.

United Nations/AP

A Palestinian walked past a poster commemorating nakba, the Arabic term for what Palestinians view as the catastrophe of Israeli statehood and independence in 1948. Nakba Day was inaugurated in 1998 by Yasser Arafat, when over one million people participated in marches and other events, and is thought of a day when tragedy befell the Palestinian nation.

Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Palestinians manufactured a giant symbolic key as they prepared to mark the 60th anniversary for the Palestinian Nakba, or Day of Catastrophe in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem. Palestinians mark the Nakba as a day of mourning for the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, which led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The key represents the symbol of Right of Return, UN resolution 194, which asserts that Palestinian refugees have a right to return to the homes and villages they left or were forced out of in Palestine.

In his Gaza shop, Palestinian Nasser Flefel, 37, carves wooden keys, representing the keys to the homes of Palestinian refugees, that they left behind in 1948, and are a symbol of the right of return for the Palestinian people. In the process of Israel's creation and independence, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lost their homes, businesses and land. As Israel marks its 60th birthday, the Palestinians mark nakba, or catastrophe in Arabic.

Adel Hana/AP

Many Palestinians were driven from their villages during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Yamnah Ibrahim Harab, 95, reaches to hold the key to her old house in northern Israel that her family fled in 1948. They now live in a West Bank refugee camp. As Israelis celebrate the 60th anniversary of their nation's founding, Palestinians commemorate and remember the time as 'the catastrophe,' nakba, which resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands, and the destruction of Palestinian culture.

Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Bayt Jibrin romjai

Suba romjai

The Terror that begot israel

By Khalid Amayreh

“We committed Nazi acts.”

Aharon Zisling, Israel’s first Agriculture Minister

“There is no doubt that many sexual atrocities were committed by the attacking Jews. Many young (Arab) girls were raped and later slaughtered. Old women were also molested.”

General Richard Catling, British Army Assistant Inspector after interrogating several female survivors (The Palestinian Catastrophe, Michael Palumbo, 1987)

As the evil state of Israel is celebrating sixty years of ethnic cleansing and atrocities against the native Palestinians, many people around the world, especially young generations, will not be fully aware of the manner in which Israel came into existence. Similarly, the younger Zionist generations who don’t stop calling their Palestinian victims “terrorists” should have a clearer idea about Israel’s manifestly criminal past which Zionist school textbooks shamelessly glamorize and glorify

Prior to "Jewish" statehood, three main Jewish terror organizations operated in Palestine, primarily against Palestinian civilians and British mandate targets. The three were: The Haganah, the Zvei Leumi or Irgun and the Stern Gang. The Haganah (Defence) had a field army of up to 160,000 well-trained and well-armed men and a unit called the Palmach, with more than 6,000 terrorists. The Irgun included as many as 5,000 terrorists, while the Stern Gang included 200-300 dangerous terrorists.

The following are merely some examples of Zionist terrorism prior to the creation of the Zionist state in 1948: The list doesn't include the bigger massacres such as Dir Yasin, Dawaymeh, Tantura and others.

1937-1939

During this period, Zionist terrorists carried out a series of terror attacks against Palestinian buses resulting in the death of 24 persons and the wounding of 25 others.

1939

Haganah blew up the Iraqi oil pipeline near Haifa/Palestine. Moshe Dayan was one of the participants in this act. The technique was used in 1947 at least four times.

1940

On 6 November, 1940 , Zionist terrorists of the Stern Gang assassinated the British Minister resident in the Middle East , Lord Moyne, in Cairo .

1940

On 25 November, S.S. Patria was blown up by Jewish terrorists in Haifa harbour, killing 268 illegal Jewish immigrants. The explosion, carried out by the Haganah terrorist group, was only meant to prevent the ship from sailing. However, it seemed that the terrorists had miscalculated the amount of explosives needed to disable the vessel. Other sources reported that this was no miscalculation and was a deliberate mass murder of Jews by Jews aimed at drawing sympathy and influencing British immigration policy to Palestine .

1946

Zionist terrorists blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, which housed the civilian administration of the government of Palestine, killing and injuring more than 200 persons. The Irgun gang claimed responsibility for this criminal act, but subsequent evidence indicated that both the Haganah and the Jewish Agency were involved.

1946

On 1 October, the British Embassy in Rome was badly damaged by a bomb explosion for which Irgun claimed responsibility.

1947

In June 1947, a postal bomb addressed to the British war office exploded in the post office sorting room in London, injuring 2 persons. It was attributed to Irgun or Stern Gangs (The Sunday Times, Sept. 24, 1972), p. 8.

1947

In December 1947, six Palestinians were killed and 30 wounded when bombs were thrown from Jewish trucks at Arab houses in Haifa; 12 Palestinians were killed and another injured in an attack by armed Zionists at an Arab coastal village near Haifa.

1947

On 13 December 1947 , Zionist terrorists believed to be members of Irgun Zevi Leumi murdered 18 Palestinian civilians and wounded 60 others in Jerusalem , Jaffa and Lud areas. In Jerusalem , bombs were thrown in an Arab market-place near the Damascus Gate; in Jaffa bombs were thrown into an Arab café; and in the Arab village near Lud, 12 Arabs were killed in an attack with mortars and automatic weapons.

1947

On 9 December, Haganah terrorists attacked an Arab village near Safad, blowing up two houses, in the ruins of which were found the bodies of 10 Arabs, including 5 children. Haganah admitted responsibility for the attack.

1948

On 31 March, Jewish terrorists mined the Cairo-Haifa Express, killing 40 people and wounding 60 others.

1948

On 16 April, Jewish terrorists attacked the former British army camp at Tel Litvvinsky, killing 90 Palestinians.

1948

On 19 April, fourteen Palestinian civilians were killed in a house in Tiberias, which was blown up by Zionist terrorists.

1948

On 11 May, a letter bomb addressed to Evelyn Baker, former commanding officer in Palestine , was detected in the nick of time by his wife.

April 25, 1948- May 13, 1948

Wholesale looting of Jaffa was carried out following armed attacks by Irgun and Haganah terrorists. They plundered and carried away everything they could, destroying what they could not take with them.

1948

On 17 September, Count Folke Berndadotte, UN Mediator in Palestine was assassinated by members of the Stern Gang in the Zionist-controlled sector of Jerusalem . Bernadotte’s aide Col. Serot was also killed and murdered by Jewish terrorists.

1948

In November, the Christian Arab villages of Igrit and Birim were attacked and destroyed, killing and injuring many unarmed civilians, including women and children. All the Christian Arab inhabitants were forcibly expelled from their homes. The State of Israel still refuses to allow them to return to their villages despite several court orders.

1948-1949

The greatest acts of Jewish terror took place when Jewish terrorists, now called Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), uprooted 700,000-800,000 Palestinians from their ancestral homeland in Palestine . Since then the refugees have consistently been denied the right to return home. After the expulsion, the Zionist terrorist army razed to the ground hundreds of Arab towns, villages and hamlets and obliterated their remains. Eventually, Israeli villages, Kibbutzim and towns were built on the remaining rubble.