Palestine: From Partition to Ethnic Cleansing... The Nakba Continues

On May 15, Palestinians commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, the Great Catastrophe, when more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homeland following the violent establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This anniversary is not only about recalling a past historical tragedy, but also about confronting the ongoing reality of displacement, occupation, apartheid, genocide, and the erosion of political hope.

The tragedy of Palestine did not begin in 1948. In 1917, the British Empire issued the Balfour Declaration, declaring its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, deliberately ignoring the presence and will of the Palestinian majority. This marked the beginning of the systematic Nakba. Britain’s post-World War I colonial policies and the subsequent Mandate (1920–1948) facilitated the mass immigration of European Jewish settlers, the seizure of Palestinian land, and the arming of Zionist militias, while brutally suppressing Palestinian uprisings and political aspirations.

In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted on Resolution 181, which recommended the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. This was a profoundly irresponsible move: the decision was made without consulting the indigenous Palestinian people, without their consent, and without any serious effort at dialogue between the various parties to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Palestine. Worse still, the plan granted the Jewish minority, which owned only about 6% of the land, over 55% of historic Palestine. It was never about creating a haven for survivors of persecution, but rather about enabling a European colonial settlement project at the expense of the indigenous population.

Under the weight of European guilt after the Holocaust, international powers supported the influx of European Jewish settlers, not to live in peace with the Palestinians, but to uproot them, seize their land, and erase their national identity. This was not a peace plan, but a recipe for ongoing disaster, and it has already led to a profound catastrophe and catastrophe for the Palestinian people.

The events and massacres perpetrated by Zionist gangs and organizations against the Palestinians in 1948 were not the result of the chaos of war, but rather deliberate and planned acts of ethnic cleansing. More than 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed, thousands were killed, and approximately 750,000 people became refugees. The new state, Israel, quickly enacted racist laws and imposed policies that prevented the return of Palestinians, while bringing in Jewish immigrants to reside in their homes.

Today, evidence—collected by Palestinian historians, and even Israeli historians such as Benny Morris and Ilan Pappe—confirms that what happened was a systematic demographic engineering plan aimed at replacing one people with another and creating a Jewish majority through the forced displacement of the Palestinian population.

The Nakba is not a chapter of the past, but an ongoing daily reality. In the refugee camps of Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria; in the occupied West Bank and under siege and genocide in Gaza; in the discriminatory legal system facing Palestinians inside Israel; in every demolition order, every land confiscation, every checkpoint, and every settler attack.

The Palestinian people have been transformed from a people whose rights were trampled upon to a people who are strangers in their own land. They are now treated as a demographic and political burden by the apartheid state, Israel, and by a world unwilling to acknowledge its complicity and failure of Palestinian victims. The discourse has shifted from talk of justice and a return to "crisis management." Israeli leaders openly talk about how to "reduce" the Palestinian presence and are even exploring countries that might "absorb" them after their expulsion from their homeland. Palestinians are no longer viewed as a people with rights, but rather as a demographic threat to be contained, expelled, or killed.

The ongoing transformation of Israeli society represents a new and dangerous phase. What used to masquerade as democracy is now morphing into an openly fascist ethnostate. From extremist ministers to religious extremists in positions of power, there is little pretense left. Palestinian human rights are being openly violated, international law is being mocked, and the occupation has become a permanent structure, not a temporary state, as it was supposed to be.

This extreme racism in Israeli policy will leave a profound impact not only on its Palestinian victims, but within Israeli society itself. No society can oppress another without also oppressing itself. A nation built on fear, superiority, and impunity cannot enjoy peace, neither with its neighbors nor with itself.

Over the decades, the Palestinians have made numerous concessions. Their acceptance of a state on a small part of their land in 1988, the Oslo Accords in 1993, and the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002—all were painful concessions in the hope of achieving peace.

But Israel rejected all these initiatives and continued to expand settlements, entrench its apartheid regime, and escalate violence and abuses against the Palestinian people. Every "peace process" served as a cover for continued land theft. Meanwhile, the so-called "free international community" provided diplomatic cover, financial and military support, and political immunity to Israel, continuing to perpetuate its narrative of being the victim of Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic terrorism and barbarism.

Internally, the Palestinian leadership is experiencing a profound crisis. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), once a symbol of the national cause, has become marginal. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is powerless and lacks any control over the territory, more concerned with maintaining stability and international aid than challenging Israel. Political stagnation, violations of freedoms, and the absence of democratic renewal have eroded its image among the Palestinian public. Severe divisions, corruption, and the lack of a clear vision have weakened the national movement and political parties. If the liberation struggle is to be revived, it must be rebuilt from the ground up, with honesty, unity, and accountability.

The United States and European powers are not spectators. Rather, they are partners in the suffering of the Palestinians. By arming Israel, shielding it from accountability, and promoting normalization with it without justice for the Palestinians, these powers have actively and vigorously supported Israel's apartheid regime.

Western leaders sing the praises of democracy and human rights, but their double standards are blatant. They support Ukraine but abandon Gaza. They condemn war crimes, except when committed by Israel. This hypocrisy exposes the moral and political bankruptcy of the global order.

Another shameful form of silence is the silence of many churches and Christian institutions, especially in the West. While Palestinian Christians suffer alongside their Muslim brethren, many global churches have chosen political neutrality at the expense of the prophetic voice. Where are the bold voices we once knew fighting the injustice of white apartheid in South Africa? Where are the voices that fought dictatorships in Latin America? Where are the voices that supported civil rights movements? Today the Church must choose: Will it be complicit in injustice and occupation, or will it stand on the side of truth and justice?

Palestine is not just a local or regional issue. It is a global moral test. It poses the question: What world are we building? A world governed by justice and equality, or a world dominated by colonialism and white supremacy? Will we allow the international order to collapse and descend into a “Wild West” governed by impunity? Or will we demand a world where human dignity is respected for all? If Palestinian rights continue to be eroded, we are all at risk. If global powers can watch genocide and displacement unfold in real time without taking action, then the very concept of human rights becomes a lie.

With the illusion of the "two-state solution" crumbling, Palestinians must consider a bold and inclusive alternative: a single democratic state in which all citizens, regardless of race or religion, enjoy equal rights. This vision requires a political transformation, but above all, it requires moral courage. It requires decolonization, not just of land, but of minds. Equal rights are not surrender. They are the ultimate demand of a people deprived of everything.

Finally, despite the destruction, there is still an unbreakable strength in the Palestinian spirit. In the steadfastness of Gaza. In the resilience of Jerusalem. In the memory of olive trees and village songs. In the refugee children who still dream of return.

On the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, we mourn. We resist. And we hope. Not a naive hope, but a revolutionary hope. A hope that justice is not dead, that history is not yet concluded. The world must choose: complicity or conscience? Silence or solidarity? Apartheid or equality?

Palestine is watching. So is history.