Pax Christi International marks Nakba Day with urgent plea: Stop the ongoing Nakba now!

In advance of Nakba Day, 15 May, Pax Christi International has issued an urgent appeal to the international community to stop the ongoing Nakba now. Nakba day marks the 1948 flight of the 750,000 Palestinians who fled the violence upon which the State of Israel was founded and whose return is forbidden. It is also the mourning of the destruction of over 450 Palestinian villages, treasured olive trees, and the loss of homes.

The pain and tragedy of the Nakba continues today, as Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza continue to relive these realities. As Palestinian homes continue to be demolished or seized and their land confiscated to enable the expansion of illegal settlements, Palestinians face a never-ending cycle of displacement, direct and structural violence and erasure from their homeland which is a violation of their inalienable human rights to freedom.

Pax Christi International stands with our Palestinian sisters and brothers in remembering the Nakba. We honor the truth of what occurred, and call on action and solidarity from the international community. This includes:

- Recognition of the Nakba and the right of return, specifically UN Resolution 194;
- Acknowledgement that Palestinians have the right to nonviolent, peaceful protest;
- Insisting that all Palestinians are afforded their human rights as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among other international and humanitarian laws.

Reaching a fair and just political solution is the only path to peace. Therefore, as we commemorate Nakba Day once more, we urge for parties to return to the negotiating table to establish a peace agreement that recognises and protects the human dignity and rights of the Palestinian and Israeli people as equals.

Read the full statement here:

https://paxchristi.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Pax-Christi-International-Nakba-Statement-2022-Final.pdf