Governorates (UNA/WAFA) – The Palestinian people in the homeland and diaspora commemorated, today, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, under the slogan: “We will not leave... Palestine is for the Palestinians.” This comes in rejection of the war of genocide and forced displacement, in defense of the inalienable national rights, and in light of the ongoing targeting of the refugee issue, camps, and the UNRWA.
For the second year in a row, the Nakba anniversary comes at a particularly special time, given the unprecedented catastrophic conditions the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing due to the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression, which has lasted for 583 days. This scene echoes the bloody massacres committed by the occupation in displaced Palestinian villages and towns.
The daily landscape in the West Bank is also marked by bloodshed. The Israeli aggression machine almost ceases its almost daily raids, destruction, killings, displacements, and arrests, accompanied by abuse, against Palestinian cities and villages. This is particularly true of the ongoing assault on the Tulkarm and Jenin refugee camps, which has resulted in the martyrdom and injury of dozens, the displacement of more than 40 people from their homes, and the systematic destruction of infrastructure.
Sirens sounded for 77 seconds in various Palestinian cities, coinciding with the 77-second silence observed to commemorate the Nakba, which falls tomorrow, May XNUMX.
Large crowds participated in the central festival, which began in front of the tomb of the late martyr Yasser Arafat in the city of Al-Bireh and proceeded to Al-Manara Square. The Palestinian flag, black banners, and the keys to return were raised during the rally.
The march, called for by the Department of Refugee Affairs and the Higher National Committee for the Commemoration of the Nakba, was also attended by members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, members of the Revolutionary Council and the National Action factions, a number of ministers, and representatives of official and popular institutions and civil society organizations.
In a speech delivered on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's deputy chairman and Central Committee member, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, said the Nakba was the greatest crime committed in history, given the scale and horrific nature of the massacres perpetrated against the Palestinian people. Villages were wiped out, and a large portion were displaced both within and outside the country.
He added that the Palestinian people's suffering continues, and that the occupation is trying to subjugate them until they give up their rights and their land, but they will fail, as always, in the face of their steadfastness and sacrifices.
He continued: “We commemorate this anniversary under difficult circumstances, while our people in the Gaza Strip are currently experiencing a more severe and painful catastrophe, where the occupation is reaping the lives of children and women, and is practicing massacres, siege, and starvation.
Al-Aloul added, "The massacres are extending to the West Bank governorates, and the settlers are practicing terrorism against the citizens, their land, and Islamic and Christian holy sites, under the protection of the occupation forces. This is in addition to the abuse of prisoners, which has resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of them in the occupation's prisons."
In a speech on behalf of the PLO and Palestinian factions, Ahmed Abu Holi, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, reiterated that the people will not leave and that Palestine will remain for the Palestinians, despite the challenges facing our Palestinian cause. He emphasized that the people will remain steadfast in the face of all destructive plans, including a war of extermination, forced displacement, the termination of UNRWA's role, the destruction of camps, and attempts to undermine the right of return.
He said: We, in the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people wherever they may be, affirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to return to their homeland. This right is inalienable and does not expire with time. The Palestinian people have the right to strive for justice, liberation, and the building of their state.
He called on the international community to pressure the occupation to halt its war of extermination, starvation, and displacement in the Gaza Strip, and to halt Israeli attacks on West Bank camps and on Jerusalem, the capital.
He affirmed his absolute rejection of all attempts at forced and voluntary displacement, as well as policies of annexation and colonialism, thanking the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and all countries that stood against displacement.
Abu Holi emphasized the Palestinian vision for confronting the challenges expressed by President Mahmoud Abbas in all conferences and meetings, which aims to protect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, implement international legitimacy resolutions, prevent urbanization, promote reconstruction, and establish a Palestinian state on the June 1967, XNUMX borders.
He called for an international conference to rebuild Gaza and the West Bank, affirming UNRWA's continued work to serve the Palestinian refugee population. He called on the world to support UNRWA politically and financially, as well as the Palestinian government, and to pressure the occupation government to release our financial rights.
He called for recognition of the Palestinian state, pressure to halt the occupation's aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, reconstruction, and saving the two-state solution.
For his part, the General Coordinator of the Higher National Committee for the Commemoration of the Nakba, Mohammed Alian, stressed that the Palestinian people are steadfast despite the groans, pain, and starvation, despite the siege and aggression on Gaza and the camps in the West Bank. He added that they will remain loyal to the blood of the martyrs and will not depart. Palestine is ours and will remain ours.
Large crowds participated in the vigil held in the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, to commemorate the Nakba.
The participants stressed their commitment to the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homes and properties from which they were displaced.
Bethlehem Deputy Governor Daoud Al-Hamri said: "The Palestinian people are steadfast in the face of all challenges, and they possess the will and determination to continue their march toward independence, the right to self-determination, and the right of return. The land is ours."
For his part, the general coordinator of the national factions in Bethlehem, Mohammed al-Jaafari, emphasized that our message in commemorating the Nakba is the message of the Palestinian people who dream of the right to return to the homes from which they were displaced in 1948. This is a right that cannot be forfeited by the passage of time. He emphasized that the Palestinian Nakba continues to this day, from Jenin in the north to Rafah in the south.
Al-Jaafari stressed that the Palestinian people today, more than ever, are in dire need of national unity and to redirect their compass toward achieving our dream of freedom, justice, and independence.
In Hebron, participants in the vigil, held at Ibn Rushd Roundabout in the city center, raised banners affirming their commitment to the right of return and self-determination. They chanted slogans denouncing the occupation and its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people, and others calling for strengthening the Palestinian ranks and achieving national unity to confront these crimes and protect the national project, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
“Despite the Nakba and the occupation, the Palestinian people have remained and will remain steadfast on their land. Nakba after Nakba will not break their resolve,” said Tayseer Al-Fakhouri, Deputy Governor of Hebron. “The massacres and crimes taking place in Gaza, and the crimes our people are subjected to in the West Bank, will not deter us from our goal and will never divert our compass. We are marching towards freedom and towards an independent state. With the mighty Palestinian people and our wise leadership, we will overcome all these challenges and our national project will inevitably triumph.”
For his part, Maher al-Salaymeh, a representative of the governorate's political and popular forces and activities, pointed out that the Palestinian people have been living through the repercussions of the Nakba for 77 years, and are facing an existential war of extermination that has been ongoing for more than eighteen months against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. What is happening in the West Bank is no less dangerous than what is happening in Gaza.
He said: “The systematic destruction of infrastructure and displacement of residents that some camps in the northern West Bank are being subjected to, in addition to the frenzied colonial campaign being carried out by the occupation, and its attempt to undermine the legal foundations of the Palestinian cause, by demonizing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), closing its offices and institutions, and preventing it from operating in occupied Jerusalem, in a blatant violation of international law, comes within the framework of the occupation’s ongoing efforts since the Nakba to liquidate the Palestinian national project.”
For his part, the official spokesman for the Fatah movement, Maher al-Namoura, said: “The Palestinian people have been suffering for 77 years from the scourge of the occupation and its ongoing crimes, the war of extermination that our people in the Gaza Strip are being subjected to, the killings, the demolitions of homes, the ongoing attacks, and the colonialism that is devouring Palestinian lands, in addition to all forms of oppression, violence, and attacks witnessed in the West Bank by the occupation and groups of settlers. This will not force us to give up any of our national and legitimate rights.”
He stressed: “We, in the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and all national factions and forces, pledge to the Palestinian people that we will remain loyal to the national project and will struggle until the liberation of Palestinian land and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.”
Other speakers noted that this painful anniversary comes amidst the difficult and tragic circumstances experienced by the Palestinian people, as a result of the Israeli occupation, its ongoing aggression, and its comprehensive criminal war against the defenseless Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza. This war coincides with the implementation of its colonial plans and the seizure of thousands of dunams of citizens' land, accompanied by the forced displacement of residents and the demolition of a large number of homes, villages, and residential areas.
They stressed that the Palestinian people, who have been resisting and rejecting the Nakba for 77 years, will not allow the occupation to repeat it with a new Nakba. They will confront the occupation's efforts with determination and a firm will, and will remain steadfast on their land, despite the pain and wounds, adhering to their full and undiminished rights.
They called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities to protect the Palestinian people, put an end to the ongoing crimes of the occupation, and work diligently to ensure that the Palestinian people obtain all their national rights, as stipulated in international resolutions, agreements, and humanitarian conventions.
In Tubas, participants chanted slogans denouncing the occupation's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.
Tubas Deputy Governor Abdullah Abu Mohsen called on the international community and the free people of the world to stop remaining silent about the crimes and genocide committed by the occupation authorities against the Palestinian people.
He explained that this year's Nakba commemoration comes amidst the difficult circumstances facing the Palestinian people as a result of the ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the ongoing aggression and crimes in the West Bank, and the ongoing aggression against the refugee camps in the northern West Bank and the forced displacement of their residents.
He also affirmed the Palestinian people's adherence to all their legitimate rights, most importantly the right to self-determination and freedom and justice.
For his part, Jamal Abu Ara, representing the Factions Coordination Committee, stressed the importance of national unity and closing ranks in the face of the occupation's plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land.
He also touched upon the seriousness of the situation the Palestinian people are going through, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as a result of the ongoing aggression, the war of extermination, and displacement plans.
In Qalqilya Governorate, the General Union of Palestinian Women commemorated the 77th anniversary of the Nakba with a vigil in front of Martyr Abu Ali Iyad Square in the city center. The event was attended by national women's activists and representatives of official and popular institutions. Palestinian flags were raised during the protest, along with banners affirming the right of return.
The union's representative in Qalqilya, Ruqayya Nazzal, emphasized that commemorating the Nakba is a reaffirmation of the Palestinian people's commitment to their rights, foremost among them the right of return. She emphasized that Palestinian women have been and continue to be partners in the national struggle in all its forms.
She added that the Nakba is not a fleeting memory, but rather an ongoing reality due to the policies of occupation and forced displacement, stressing that the Palestinian people will continue their struggle until they achieve their legitimate goals.
(is over)
