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<h1><font size=4><b>The Nakba: The Perpetuation of an Unwanted
Legacy</b></font></h1><font size=3>Tuesday, 15 May 2012<br>
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<a href="http://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/topics/population-transfer-and-residency-right/574-the-nakba-the-perpetuation-of-an-unwanted-legacy" eudora="autourl">
http://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/topics/population-transfer-and-residency-right/574-the-nakba-the-perpetuation-of-an-unwanted-legacy<br>
<br>
</a></font><font size=3>Sixty-four years have passed since Palestinian
society was decimated by the forcible transfer of some 700,000 people by
Israeli forces. Each year, on 15 May, ‘Nakba Day’ commemorates the
anguish of those who were expelled from their homes and those who fled in
panic under direct military assault. Today also serves as a day of
remembrance for the mass murders of 1948 and the destruction of entire
villages, of Deir Yassin and Tantura and Al-Dawayima, when hundreds of
Palestinians were killed during a period that is now known simply as ‘the
catastrophe’.<br><br>
While the term Nakba is seen as a reference to the murder, exile and
devastation of the 1948 war, in reality, it could just as easily be used
to describe the current belligerent occupation. It is an appropriate term
for nearly six decades of demolitions, internment, the appropriation of
land and the refusal by Israel to recognise and respect the basic human
rights of the Palestinian people. It could very easily be used to
describe the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian
people. The Nakba did not end in 1948. The mass forcible transfer that
occurred during and in the aftermath of the war was only the first stage
in Isreal’s illegal policy of displacement that is being implemented with
equal determination and precision to this day.<br><br>
For the last six decades, the rights of those dispossessed have never
been addressed. Today, seven million Palestinian refugees are scattered
across the globe. The right of the Palestinians displaced by the wars in
1948 and 1967 has been framed by Israeli rhetoric as a political claim
and continuously rejected. In truth, the right to return of those
displaced by a conflict is a well-established principle of international
law. In particular, the right of Palestinian refugees has been
unequivocally reiterated by the Security Council in its unanimously
adopted Resolution 237 of 1967.<br><br>
Indeed, the most recent bout of negotiations came about in response to a
request from the Quartet for proposals on borders and security
arrangements in a future two-State solution. However, this seems to
ignore the fact that the conflict is not simply one of borders, but
revolves around a multitude of interrelated issues, including the rights
of refugees, Jerusalem, water, and prisoners, which need to be addressed
in an equitable manner to bring about a just and durable solution to the
conflict. By resolving the issues that Israel wants negotiated first,
Palestinian representatives will be stripped of any leverage they have to
negotiate other important questions, resulting in an illusory peace
process and continued occupation.<br><br>
Furthermore, Israel has repeatedly demanded that Palestinian
representatives come to the negotiating table without preconditions. It
should be clear to all involved that international law cannot be
dismissed as a simple precondition. Rather, it is the foundation upon
which constructive and well-balanced negotiations must be based and as
such it must be upheld and respected by all parties involved. <br><br>
Instead of fulfilling their obligations under international law to
discourage the continuation of the ongoing breaches of international law
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the international community has
long reduced itself to advocating for the formalisation of such
violations in the name of political expediency. At the same time, the
tacit approval of the international community has only served to reward
Israel’s illegal policy of dispossession, including land
appropriation for the purposes of settlement construction and
expansion.<br><br>
As such, denial of the right to self-determination, which encompasses the
right to return, has become a legacy, passed down by Palestinian parents
to their children. Palestinians in 2012 still experience ‘the
catastrophe’, albeit in a slightly different format. The term is today a
reference to the silent annexation of the Jordan Valley and the forcible
transfer of families across Area C of the West Bank. It describes the
effects of the Annexation Wall, the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip
and the violent suppression of freedom of expression. It is also a
fitting portrayal of a situation where some 2,500 Palestinian prisoners
must go on hunger strike, several to the point of near-death, to demand
the most basic human rights.<br><br>
For Palestinians, the Nakba has been perpetuated for decades. It will
continue for decades more, for as long as justice is sidelined and Israel
is granted impunity by the international community for an uninterrupted
stream of violations of international law that began more than sixty
years ago. <br><br>
<b>-End-<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
<b>The Palestinian Council of Human Rights Organisations (PCHRO):<br>
Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association<br>
Aldameer Association for Human Rights<br>
Al-Haq<br>
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights<br>
Ensan Center for Human Rights and Democracy<br>
Hurryyat - Centre for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights<br>
Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights<br>
Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies<br>
Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling<br><br>
<br><br>
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