<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="container font-size5 content-width3">
<div class="header reader-header" style="display: block;"
dir="ltr"> <font size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="http://www.addameer.org/news/statement-occasion-nakba-day-and-events-gaza">http://www.addameer.org/news/statement-occasion-nakba-day-and-events-gaza</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Statement on the Occasion of Nakba Day
and Events in Gaza</h1>
<div class="meta-data">
<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr"
style="text-align: left;">16 May 2018<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4" dir="ltr"
style="display: block;">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div class="page" id="page">
<section id="section-content">
<div id="zone-content-wrapper">
<div id="zone-content">
<div id="region-content">
<div>
<div id="block-system-main">
<div>
<div>
<article id="node-news-3195"><span><span></span></span><span
id="da2a_1"> </span>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p>It is with a heavy heart that
we write this Nakba day
statement. After the events of
14 May 2018, all words of
condemnation seem insufficient
and calls for action seem
empty. The fact that this has
been ongoing, cyclically, for
70 years is an outrage.</p>
<p>From our perspective as a
prisoner support organization,
70 years of Nakba represents
70 years of control and
domination. This manifests
throughout every system used
to prop up and perpetuate the
occupation. From permit
regime, to land confiscation,
to annexation, to housing
demolitions, and massacres,
the intent of all these
activities is the same. It is
to completely bend the
Palestinian people, their
lives and dreams, to the will
of the occupying force.</p>
<p>It means the violation of the
basic tenets of humanitarian
law. 50 years of official
occupation is in no way
temporary, and no longer
abides by the internationally
accepted definition. Thus, we
have moved into a new reality
through the simple passage of
time and assertion of the will
of the occupier. The military
law system is the dominant
legal paradigm of the land,
the occupied population is
continually transferred out
with every imprisonment, and
the occupier takes persistent
steps towards indefinite
annexation.</p>
<p>The Nakba means 70 years of
displacement, domination, and
deference to an external
power. It means subdued
spirits, and narrowed
possibilities. It means the
slow disintegration of hope,
manifesting in inaction from
those who have the privilege
to disengage and desperation
from those who do not.</p>
<p>Over the past four days, we
have seen around 100 arrests
throughout the occupied
Palestinian territory,
including Jerusalem and the
Gaza Strip. In an attempt to
subdue the legitimate outrage
that follows a massacre of the
magnitude that has just been
perpetrated in Gaza, the
occupation has returned to its
more ‘modest’ modes of
control.</p>
<p>The international community
has shown itself to lack the
moral courage to stand up to
Israel. It has made
statements, and urged
restraint while war crimes and
violations of human rights
have continued unabated. It
has condemned the occupation
on one hand, but has continued
supplying the perpetrator on
the other hand. It has held
peace talks, while trading in
the tools of war. If there was
ever a time to change this
pattern, it would be now. 70
years of continuing
catastrophe is 70 years too
long. The international
community has a distinct
responsibility to ensure that
international norms and laws
are upheld. Those who do not
abide have no place in the
community of nations.</p>
<p>To those who have stood with
the Palestinian struggle on a
personal level, your action
and commitment is needed now
more than ever. If we are to
ever find a just solution, it
is the people of the world,
not the big institutions, who
will be the primary movers of
such change. It will be slow,
and take many baby steps, but
we move towards justice with
every protests, every new
understanding of the
situation, and every BDS
resolution. Every time a BDS
proposition is brought
forward, whether at
universities, trade unions, or
local governments, people will
ask “why?”. It is your role as
civil society to give them the
answer. That 70 years of
displacement and oppression is
ongoing; that Israel does not
abide by international law or
respect the basic human rights
of the Palestinian people;
that self-determination is all
that is desired by a people
who have been struggling for
70 years. That all human
beings simply want the chance
to dictate the parameters of
their own life is an eternal
truth.</p>
<p>To those who died in Gaza, we
honor your memory. To those
who were displaced in 1948, we
carry your burden; and to
those who remain locked away
in occupation jails, we
struggle for your freedom.</p>
<p>70 years is 70 years too
long.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</article>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>