Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduces resolution to recognise “Palestinian Nakba”
Washington (QNN)- US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has introduced a resolution to recognise the Palestinian Nakba, a term used to describe forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the run-up to the creation of the so-called state of ‘Israel’ in 1948.
“The Nakba is well-documented and continues to play out today,” Tlaib, the first Palestinian Progressive Democrat and was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents, wrote on Twitter.
“We must acknowledge that the humanity of Palestinians is being denied when folks refuse to acknowledge the war crimes and human rights violations in apartheid Israel.”
The congresswoman stated she introduced the resolution in the US House of Representatives on Monday, a day after Palestinians marked the 74th anniversary of Nakba.
“On this day, we must promote human rights and justice. The Palestinian people since the 48 Nakba have been living under oppression and violent racism. Silence and blank checks enables more death and violence,” she also tweeted.
Today, I introduced a resolution recognizing the Nakba (catastrophe), where 400 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed, over 700,000 Palestinians uprooted from their homes, and made refugees.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 16, 2022
The congresswoman also said the resolution is cosponsored by her fellow progressives Betty McCollum, Marie Newman, Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A special thank you to @RepMarieNewman, @BettyMcCollum04, @Ilhan & @RepAOC for joining me as original cosponsors of the #NakbaResolution and to all the incredible people all across America who continue to stand for what is right, no matter how hard the fight may be.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 16, 2022
Meaning “catstrophe”, Palestinians consider the Nakba to be an ongoing process that began with the arrival of Zionist settlers at the turn of the twentieth century.
After the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and decades of British “Mandate” rule, Palestinians were slowly pushed out of their native lands, initially by purchase of land by Zionist groups and later, after the British withdrawal from Mandate Palestine, by force.
Around 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes during the Nakba and were prevented from returning home by ‘Israel’.
Today they and their descendants number in the millions and still remain in exile, primarily in neighbouring Arab states.
The expulsion of Palestinians was followed by a process of erasure and Judaisation of areas newly acquired by ‘Israel’.
As a result, many Israeli landmarks and towns today are built on areas where Palestinians once resided.
