On Wednesday (15), the 76th anniversary of the event known in the Arab world as the Palestinian Nakba – or “tragedy” in Arabic – saw demonstrations around the world drawing attention to the Israeli government's ongoing massacre of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
Around 15,000 Palestinians were killed during the Nakba in 1948 and around 450,000 were expelled from their land after the creation of the State of Israel. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 1.7 million people have been displaced – more than double the number recorded in 1948.
In the city of São Paulo, the Frente Palestina SP (São Paulo Palestine Front, in English) called for a demonstration at the Assis Chateaubriand São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP, in Portuguese). Waving Palestinian flags and placards calling for an “end to the genocide in Gaza”, the demonstrators marched along Paulista Avenue and towards Roosevelt Square. At the end of the protest, demonstrators set fire to the Israeli flag.
Mohamad El Kadri, one of the founders of the Palestinian Front and president of the Latin Palestinian Forum, says the act aims to remember the Palestinian catastrophe after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, which started the Arab-Israeli conflict, an event that helps to understand the current situation in the Gaza Strip.
“There are massacres [and] the Israeli occupation and colonization continue. It's important to present this knowledge to the population. Many people think that the Palestine question started on October 7, 2023, but it began in 1948 with the occupation of Palestine and the founding of the State of Israel,” the activist said.
El Kadri was in Turkey in April, when the Latin Palestinian Forum led a delegation of almost 40 parliamentarians from 15 Latin American countries, to discuss joint actions against the State of Israel. “It was very important because it gave us new impetus for the activities taking place in Latin America, giving new directions, acting in parliaments, so that there is also a break in relations, trade agreements with Israel in all areas. In addition to the immediate ceasefire, our motivation is to condemn Israel's attacks, especially in Rafah, leading leaders to call in various parliaments for Netanyahu's arrest and for the co-responsibility of the United States, which is financing this crime, this genocide that Israel is committing in Gaza and Palestine.”
Around 600,000 people, a quarter of Gaza's population, have been displaced from Rafah since May 6, as the Israeli ground operation continues. On Monday (13) and Tuesday (14) alone, 150,000 Palestinians left the city, which borders Egypt. The information was released on Wednesday (15) by Farhan Haq, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Protests in the Middle East and Europe
In the West Bank, part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories, a group of protesters held an event in the city of Ramallah. Descendants and allies of the Palestinian cause also held demonstrations to mark the date of the Nakba in Jordan, Lebanon and in European cities such as Paris, London and Berlin.
Demonstrators also marched in Beirut, the Lebanese capital city, to mark the anniversary of the Nakba. The demonstration began in front of the American University of Beirut and reached its final destination in front of the British embassy in the city.
Greek police clashed with protesters during a pro-Palestinian march towards the Israeli embassy in the capital Athens. More than 2,500 people marched through the streets to the embassy carrying Palestinian flags and shouting “Free Palestine!". A group of protesters threw stones at police officers, which was forming a security cordon outside the embassy. The police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. Three people were detained during the brief clashes, a police officer said.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa said this was the “most painful anniversary we have ever experienced”. In the same vein, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) also published a statement linking the memory of the Nakba to the current massacre: “This anniversary will be especially painful, as Gaza faces a new Nakba, after months of violence and intense bombings and attacks.”
