Israeli security forces have acted brutally against Palestinian protesters who gathered near its borders to mark the 63rd
Nakba Day. Scores of people got injured and many others killed when
Israeli border security police opened fire on demonstrators near the
borders of Lebanon, Golan Heights, Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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| Flags hoisted to commemorate Nakba Day |
Palestinians refer to the 1948 founding
of the Jewish state of Israel as al-Nakba (the catastrophe) when more
than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their land following
Israel’s declaration of independence on 15 May. The descendants of those
expelled Palestinians now number around 6 million and the great
majority of them have been living as refugees in countries round the
region.
A total of around 1.3 million
Palestinians live within the Israeli territory (excluding West Bank and
Gaza) and are known as Israeli Arabs. These Palestinians make about 20
percent of Israel’s population and they are forbidden to commemorate
al-Nakba.
Ismail Haniyeh, one of Hamas leaders in
Gaza City addressed a crowd of worshippers saying, ‘Palestinians marked
this year’s Nakba with great hope of bringing to an end the Zionist
project in Palestine.’
Al Nakba means ‘the catastrophe’ or ‘the
disaster’ in Arabic. This word refers to the devastation of Palestinian
society during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when Zionist forces ethnically
cleansed Palestinians from their homes. In 1948, the Zionist forces
expelled nearly two-thirds of the Palestinian population from their
homes. They were forced to flee to neighbouring countries to live in
refugee camps. In many cases, Zionist forces conducted massacres of
innocent civilians who refused to give up their land. According to
Israeli historian, Illan Pappe, 531 Palestinian villages and 11 urban
localities were ethnically cleansed. Most of these towns were demolished
and taken by the newly established Israeli government to make room for
Jewish immigrants.
Palestinian refugees are scattered
throughout the world, many of which are still living in poverty-stricken
refugee camps. Israel has since refused to allow Palestinian refugees
to return to their homeland, and has refused to pay them compensation as
required by the Article 11 of the UN Resolution 194.
Zionist terror campaigns and massacres
made Palestinians to flee for their lives. One such massacre was the one
carried out in the village of Deir Yassin in April 1948. The Deir
Yassin massacre was carried by the Irgun and Stern gangs, under the
direct leadership of Menachem Begin, the future prime minister of Israel
who said ‘Deir Yassin massacre was not only necessary but without it
the state of Israel could not have emerged.’
During the attack on Deir Yassin, houses
were burned, pregnant women were bayoneted in their abdomens and
children were beaten and raped. In the agony that continued, 52 children
were maimed under the eyes of their own mothers, and then they were
killed. Not satisfied with just the massacre, the terrorists then
rounded up all the women and girls who remained alive, removed all their
clothes, put them in open vehicles, driving them naked through the
streets of the Jewish sector of Jerusalem. They were paraded naked on
the streets and then shot after being raped. More than 250 Palestinians
died in the horrifying massacre.
This was on 9 April 1948, two weeks
after signing a peace treaty requested by the leaders of the nearby
Jewish settlements, and approved by the people of Deir Yassin.
One Palestinian woman survivor named
Zaenab Mohamed Ismail Attieh born in Deir Yassin in 1924 lost her
father, uncles, children and other relatives in Deir Yassin massacre.
Zaenab also was an eye witness to the crimes perpetrated against her
people in that village in 1948. She says, ‘...they massacred us,
betrayed us. They murdered our children and our men and took our land.
Is it possible then to reconcile with them? Can you put a snake in your
breast pocket? It will bite you, no matter how smooth it is! This is how
they behave, they are the enemies of religion and they are the Jews of
Khayber. Your father’s enemy will never love you, even if you worship
him as you worship God.’
A group of Maldivian activists calling
themselves ‘Friends of Palestine’ and intending to take part in the
third ‘intifada’ (uprising against Israel) have launched their campaign
this morning. They commenced their activity with the early Morning
Prayer held in Furuqan Mosque in Malé during which a special
invocation was recited for the people of Palestine. The prayer was led
by Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, former State Minister for Islamic Affairs.
After the prayer Sheikh Shaheem spoke by saying that he was delighted
to see a group of Maldivian youth taking the initiative to work for the
rights of Palestinians. He also said the sufferings of Palestinians have
lingered on for more than half a century which is the root cause of
terrorism in the world. Since Muslims are a single nation and Muslim
brotherhood transcends all other differences, and therefore we have to
be united in our efforts to save our brotherly people of Palestine. The
strongest weapon the Muslims possess is the dua (invocation to Allah) and we have to recite invocations for our brothers in Palestine.
Sheikh Imran Abdulla who also spoke at the congregation noted that the holy land of Palestine was considered as qiblah
(direction to be faced during prayer) by many Prophets and is also the
land where many Prophets had been buried. Muslims are under obligation
to fight against the Jewish occupiers of the holy land by our bodies,
words and deeds. Sheikh Imran recalled the heroic deeds of jihad,
courage and steadfastness of Abraham, the father of Prophets who lived
in Palestine. Muslims are also under obligation to save the holiest
landmark in Palestine which is the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Noble
Sanctuary.
Sheikh Mohamed Didi who also spoke at
the gathering highlighted the sacred status of the land of Palestine as
the land is mentioned 5 times in the holy Quran as a blessed place. He
said the land of Palestine is a property granted to Muslims (by divine
decree) and as such it belongs to all Muslims of the world. Sheikh Didi
also said many great thinkers or solution seekers agree that the issue
of Palestine is the root cause of all major problems faced by the nation
of Islam today.
A large number of people attended the event held at Furuqan
Mosque today and ‘Friends of Palestine’ have declared that they will be
actively engaged in various activities for the coming week to show
solidarity with the People of Palestine.
…………………………………………………Written by: Ibrahim Nazim
15 May 2011, Sunday
12 Jumaada al-THaany 1432
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