By Humairaa Mayet
Al-Nakba: “The Catastrophe, an Arabic term for the events of 1948, when many Palestinians were displaced by the creation of the new state of Israel.”
Around the world, 15th May is commemorated as Nakba Day in remembrance of the thousands of Palestinians who were forcefully removed from their homeland by settler colonialists. By 1950, approximately 750 000 Palestinians were displaced and made to live as refugees in neighbouring countries, and 15 000 Palestinians were killed by the Zionist regime, which also destroyed hundreds of villages.
Although 72 years have passed since Israel’s initial violent occupation, the Nakba is far from over. Palestinians face ongoing hardship and strife at the hands of the illegitimate state of Israel which deploys the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) to Palestinian territories and continues to terrorise citizens of Palestine.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip are the territories most susceptible to Israeli brutality and Palestinians confined to these lands live under Israel’s violent occupation. The Gaza Strip has recently entered its 13th year of a land and sea blockade imposed by Israel, and Donald Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ is set to further annexe the West Bank.
The health crisis brought on by the coronavirus will undoubtedly strike Palestine harder than other countries, and will exacerbate the economic instability in the region, as well as place further strains on Palestine’s already strained infrastructure.
