Yesterday, the Palestinians commemorated the 72nd anniversary of the "Nakba Day" without popular activities in a first precedent, due to the measures taken to prevent the outbreak of the new Corona virus.
The popular activities that take place annually on the anniversary of the “Nakba Day”, which falls on May 15 of each year, are canceled and symbolize the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel on Palestinian lands in 1948, and the displacement of thousands of Palestinian refugees.
The Department of Refugee Affairs in the Palestine Liberation Organization announced that this year’s activities for “Nakba Day” are limited to digital activities on social media platforms, as part of a media campaign bearing the slogan “We will return to Palestine.”
The department urged the raising of the Palestinian flag and black flags on the roofs of Palestinian homes, the whistling of mourning, the movement stopped for 72 seconds, with the number of years of the Nakba, the launching of takbeers from the minarets of mosques, and the ringing of church bells.
For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Information announced the allocation of a special unified broadcasting wave to commemorate the Nakba Day under the title "We will not forget", with the participation of a number of local radio, television and news agencies.
On the eve of the anniversary, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Palestinians will not wait forever to achieve peace with Israel, which he accused of war crimes.
Abbas said in a speech on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the Palestinian "Nakba Day", "We have extended our hands to a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of international legitimacy decisions, and we still hope that this will be achieved, but we will not wait forever, for nothing is more precious for us than Palestine, and nothing more generous for us than Our people and their national rights ».
Abbas accused Israel of continuing "its violations and committing settlement crimes that are war crimes according to international law, denying them the agreements signed with them, and planning with the encouragement of the American administration to annex the territories of the occupied Palestinian state, especially in East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley."
He said, "In front of that, we will reconsider our position on all agreements and understandings, whether with the occupying state or with the United States of America itself, and we will be in the solution of all these agreements and understandings if the Israeli government announces the annexation of any part of our occupied lands."
He added, "We will hold the American and Israeli governments responsible for all the dangerous consequences or repercussions that entail, and we have reported this to all relevant international, regional and Arab parties."
In the same context, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said that President Mahmoud Abbas sent several messages to the Quartet, the Europeans and Russia, in which he called for an international conference based on international legitimacy.
For his part, the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad Al-Malki, in a statement on the occasion of "The Day of the Catastrophe", called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to end the effects of the Nakba based on international law and support the Palestinian right.
The Palestinian factions issued separate statements confirming the adherence to Palestinian rights, chief among them the right of return of refugees, confronting projects to "liquidate" the issue, and perpetuating the Israeli occupation.
According to official Palestinian sources, about 950,000 Palestinians were displaced from their original cities and towns upon the announcement of the founding of Israel, 774 Palestinian villages and cities were controlled, and 531 of them were completely destroyed.
Palestine calls on the international community to assume its responsibilities to end the effects of the catastrophe, based on international law.