Palestinian commemorate the Nakba, or “Catastrophe,” of 1948, underscoring that the events of the late 1940s remain the fundamental cause of the events witnessed on October 7th last year.
The Nakba refers to the systematic expulsion and displacement of Palestinians by Zionist paramilitary groups preceding and following the declaration of the State of ‘Israel’ on May 14, 1948. These paramilitary groups later became the foundation of the Israel occupation Forces.
Following the United Nations’ controversial and unjust approval of the Partition Plan in November 1947, the nascent Jewish state was allotted roughly 55 percent of the most fertile land in historic Palestine.
This allocation was disproportionate, considering that Jews owned less than six percent of the private land and constituted only about 33 percent of the population in Palestine at the time. A significant portion of this Jewish population were recent immigrants, having arrived in successive waves from Europe since the early 20th century, with a notable influx immediately after the Second World War.
The Nakba witnessed the occupation, destruction, and looting of Palestinian villages, with their inhabitants either expelled or killed by well-armed Jewish forces—many of whom were ironically trained by the British. This campaign was facilitated by an agreement between the Zionist representative in New York, Moshe Sharett, and the Soviet Union’s Andrei Gromyko. The accord enabled the transfer of modern weaponry to Zionist militias via Czechoslovakia, then under Soviet occupation.
This process resulted in the destruction of over 500 Palestinian towns and villages and the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians, a number exceeding the entire Jewish population in Palestine at that time.
Dispossessed of their homes and properties, some Palestinians were internally displaced, while others sought refuge in neighboring countries. Palestine underwent extensive land annexation, ethnic cleansing, and racial discrimination, accompanied by the Judaization of Jerusalem and the expropriation of national resources and assets.
The colonization of Palestinian land commenced immediately and has persisted unabated, with the objective of the complete eradication of Palestine and the uprooting of its people.
Upon the completion of the initial phase of the Nakba by Zionist forces, the newly established “Jewish State” encompassed 78 percent of historic Palestine, significantly exceeding the 55 percent allocated by the UN Partition Plan. This expansion left only the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, which subsequently fell under the control of Jordan and Egypt, respectively.
For the past 76 years, ‘Israel’ has sought to establish a fait accompli in defiance of international law and UN resolutions by brutally assaulting the indigenous Palestinian population through ethnic cleansing, murder, displacement, and siege. Occupation is inherently an act of aggression.
In response to this ongoing aggression, the Palestinian people not only possess the right but are compelled to resist Israel’s occupation by any means necessary, including armed struggle, to defend their land, people, resources, and holy sites.
The Nakba remains the root cause of the suffering endured by Palestinians to this day. ‘Israel’ continues to perpetrate war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the crime of apartheid. It should therefore come as no surprise to anyone with a conscience that the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, along with other Palestinian resistance groups, launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood last October.
These groups broke out of what has been described as a “prison camp,” having been subjected to an Israeli-led siege and blockade since 2006.
This watershed moment has sparked a global outpouring of solidarity, driven by widespread disgust at the criminal acts of Israeli genocide witnessed in real time since October 7. This surge of support has also served to expose the Zionist-friendly regimes in the US, Europe, and the Middle East that are complicit in these atrocities, including Arab collaborators.
The parallels between the events of 1948 and the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank are strikingly evident. The forces behind the state of Israel, continuing the massacres of Palestinians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, seek to “complete the job” initiated by David Ben Gurion and his associates: the eradication of the indigenous population and the seizure of remaining land to further their colonial project and enforce absolute Jewish supremacy in Palestine.
However, the settler-colonialists face significant resistance.
Despite the heavy toll in lives and destruction, Palestinian resistance has been fierce and determined, effectively challenging the myth of the Zionist occupation forces’ invincibility and supposed morality. With justice and international law on their side, resistance groups have exposed the genocidal campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, shaming its supporters in the US, UK, Europe, and the Arab world.
This steadfast resistance, coupled with global solidarity, has profoundly shaken the international political order. Student protests and mass demonstrations in universities and cities worldwide underscore a movement against Zionism, rejecting attempts to equate legitimate criticism of the Zionist state with anti-Semitism. This is indeed a historic moment.
Protesters advocating for international law and justice recognize that Zionism is distinct from Judaism; not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Zionists are Jews. They understand that the Zionist state is a colonial entity, anachronistic in an era when colonialism should be a relic of the past. Furthermore, they acknowledge how Zionist crimes against humanity exploit Jews and Judaism as a shield.
Racist ideologies, such as Nazism—which, ironically, has inspired some Zionists—were defeated by Western armies and resistance groups in Europe.
Similarly, the dark era of apartheid in South Africa ended through the selfless resistance of its people. Zionism and its racist supremacism will likewise be defeated in occupied Palestine through comprehensive resistance.
Palestinians cannot remain perpetual victims of a pernicious model of colonialism, oppression, and extermination of an indigenous people.
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