Nakba Day

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Nakba Day (Arabic: يوم النكبة yawm al-nakba — 15 May)^[1] is the annual day of commemoration by the Palestinian people of the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.^[2]^[3] Events in Palestine during the British mandate prior to Israel's declaration of independence, as well as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that erupted following the invasion of neighbouring Arab states, resulted in the flight or expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinian refugees, ^[4] and the destruction and abandonment of up to 418 Palestinian villages. ^[5] Palestinians call these events al-Nakba ("the catastrophe"). ^[6]

Israel declared its independence on the evening of May 14, 1948. In the ensuring struggle Israel went on to successfully repel the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, and Lebanon and to capture just over fifty per cent of the territory allocated to the Arab state in the 1947 UN Partition Plan. After the end of the War, the vast majority of Palestinian Arab refugees outside the 1949 armistice lines were barred from returning to their homes, many of which had been destroyed, or from reclaiming their property. ^[4]^[5] Every year, on the 5th of Iyyar of the Hebrew calendar (which can fall between 15 April and 15 May) Israelis celebrate Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzma'ut). ^[7] While Nakba Day is commemorated on May 15 in keeping with the Gregorian calendar, Palestinians and their supporters around the world coordinate some Nakba Day events to coincide with the Israeli Independence Day celebrations. ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] Because of the differences between the Jewish and the Gregorian calendars Independence Day and the official May 15 date for Nakba Day only coincide every 19 years.^[11]. In Israel, there are Nakba day protests which takes place according to the Hebrew date, on the exact date when Israelis celebrate Israel's independence day.

The event is often marked by speeches and rallies in the West Bank, Gaza and in Arab states.^[12] In 2006, Israeli Arab member of the Knesset Dr. Azmi Bishara told the Israeli newspaper Maariv: "Independence Day is your holiday, not ours. We mark this as the day of our Nakba, the tragedy that befell the Palestinian people in 1948". ^[13]^[14] Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman called for Israeli Arab Knesset members that marked Nakba Day to be tried for treason.

The day was inaugurated in 1998 by Yasser Arafat, ^[15] when over one million people participated in marches and other events.^[16] Nakba Day has been marked each year by protests which at times develop to clashes between Palestinians and the Israel Defense Force in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, ^[17]^[18]^[19] and in 2003 and 2004, by demonstrations in London ^[20] and New York City. ^[21]