Amnesty notes Israel’s “appalling record” of displacement
Amnesty International said on May 15th that the forced displacement of nearly two million Palestinians and large-scale destruction of civilian property and infrastructure in Gaza highlights Israel’s “appalling record” of displacement, the New Arab and agencies reported.
The remarks came on Nakba Day — an annual commemoration of the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes by Zionist militias in 1948 to make way for the creation of the Israeli state.
“Generations of Palestinians across the occupied territories are deeply scarred by the trauma of being uprooted and dispossessed multiple times and with no prospect of return to their homes,” said Amnesty’s senior advocacy director Erika Guevara Rosas.
“It is utterly harrowing to see the chilling scenes of [the] 1948 Nakba [catastrophe], as it is known to Palestinians, repeat themselves as droves of Palestinians in Gaza are forced to flee their homes on foot in search of safety over and over, and Israeli army and state backed settlers expel Palestinians in the West Bank from their homes,” she added.
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Israel heightened its offensive action in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on May 7th, when it seized a shared border crossing with Egypt. The UN reported that Around 600,000 Palestinians have been driven out of Rafah since the beginning of last week. Israel has ordered the evacuation of 10,000 people in northern Gaza so far.
While Palestinians expelled during the Nakba and their descendants have a right of return under international law, Israel has never let them exercise it. Around 350,000 were displaced from the West Bank during and following the 1967 Middle East war — they have also not been permitted to return.
Amnesty has called on the international community to prevent the further displacement of Palestinians and enable previous generations to exercise their right of return. It also called for an immediate ceasefire by all involved parties.
The New Arab and agencies
