DayofPal– For decades, Israel has denied responsibility for the 1948 Nakba, the mass expulsion and dispossession of at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes to establish the state of Israel. Now, it openly threatens another Nakba, reinforcing a legacy of displacement and destruction.
Last month, Sufian Abu Ghassan, a 70-year-old Palestinian, was among hundreds of thousands returning to their devastated homes in Gaza after a temporary ceasefire halted Israel’s 15-month-long assault.
The relief of surviving was short-lived. His home was damaged, his taxi business destroyed, and essential resources, including drinking water, were scarce. On February 17, Israeli drones broadcast chilling threats over northern Gaza, warning Palestinians of a “second and third Nakba.”
The first Nakba saw Zionist gangs systematically expel Palestinians from their villages, laying the foundation for Israel in 1948. Today, 77 years later, Israeli politicians and citizens increasingly advocate for the forced removal of millions of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, where 70% of the 2.3 million residents are descendants of Nakba refugees.
Abu Ghassan, displaced five times since October 7, but refuses to leave. “Israel wants to expel all of us… but that’s impossible. None of us will leave. Dying here would be better,” he told Al Jazeera.
Israel’s latest war was classified by UN experts and rights groups as a a potential genocide—uprooting nearly the entire population, imposing starvation, and reducing much of Gaza to rubble. The death toll has surpassed 62,000, mostly women and children.
Israeli politicians are now embracing the idea of mass expulsion, inspired by a proposal from former U.S. President Donald Trump to forcibly “relocate” Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan to “clear” Gaza for development.
Despite mounting evidence, Israel has historically denied the Nakba, dismissing it as an unfortunate consequence of war rather than a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign.
Israeli historian Ilan Pappé, in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, documented how Zionist gangs besieged Palestinian towns, destroyed homes, and looted property before forcing people into exile. To erase the evidence, forests were planted over the ruins of Palestinian villages.
Palestinian analyst Diana Buttu notes that most Israelis are unaware that many of their homes were once Palestinian properties. “In Israel, there’s a whole effort to pretend that 1948 never happened,” she told Al Jazeera.
Despite this denial, many Israelis now explicitly support another Nakba. A February poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute found that 80% of Jewish Israelis back Trump’s expulsion plan, with 52% considering it “practical.”
“This has always been part of the Israeli fantasy,” said Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg. He recalled that as a teenager, discussions often included a hypothetical question: “Would you press a red button to make all Palestinians disappear?” The overwhelming response was “Yes.”
Trump’s proposed plan, which aligns with ideas promoted by Israeli officials, would violate international law and amount to ethnic cleansing.
A leaked Israeli intelligence memo from October 13, 2023, suggested Israel should seek international support to expel Gaza’s Palestinians into the Sinai desert.
Israeli leaders have made their intentions clear. In November 2023, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter stated, “We’re now rolling out the Gaza Nakba,” as over 1.5 million Palestinians were forcibly displaced. Israeli soldiers have even graffitied “Nakba 2023” on buildings in Gaza.
Leaflets dropped over Gaza claim Trump’s plan is inevitable, urging Palestinians to leave. The messages mock international indifference:
“Neither America nor Europe cares about Gaza. Arab countries don’t care. They are now our allies, supplying us with weapons, oil, and money—while sending you shrouds.”
Mohamed Abu Ibrahim, 55, believes Israel’s rhetoric is psychological warfare. “There’s nothing Israel can do that will surprise us anymore,” he said.
Diana Buttu argues that Israel’s push for mass expulsion signals its failure to achieve its war aims. Despite the scale of destruction, Israel has not dismantled Hamas nor secured permanent military control over Gaza.
“Just the fact that ethnic cleansing is being openly discussed as acceptable. It shows where we are in this global system,” Buttu said. “It’s all quite terrifying.”
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