Dear
friends,
Today,
June 5, marks the 47th anniversary of the Naksa (Arabic for
setback/calamity). In 1967, Israel invaded Syrian, Egyptian and
Jordanian controlled territories seizing the West Bank, the Gaza
Strip and the Golan Heights. For the Palestinian people, the June
1967 war and subsequent occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East
Jerusalem resulted in Israel's illegl military occupation of what was
left of their historic homeland. After the 1948 Al Nakba (the
catastrophe), the 1967 Naksa (the setback/calamity) it is the single
most important objective factor that defines the Palestinian people's
struggle for self-determination, freedom and justice.
In 1967 more than 400,000 Palestinians were expelled by Israel from their land, marking the second expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland since 1948 when more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled to neighbouring Arab countries by Zionist terror militias and 150,000 Palestinians became internally displaced inside the newly established Israeli state. It took Israel less than one week to forcibly displace Palestinians for the second time, with ninety-five percent of Palestinians fleeing to Jordan. A small number also fled to Lebanon and Syria.
I have included below photos from the 1967, as well as an extract from a 2004 bulletin issued by Badil, the Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refuge which gives a very good overview of the Naksa and its impact on Palestinian society.
I am also posting a link to an article I posted up a year ago about Israel's razing and ethnic cleansing of the Mughrabi neighourhood in 1967, which took place within days of Israel seizing control of Occupied East Jerusalem. The Mughrabi neighbourhood was ethnically cleansed in order to build the plaza which now stands in front of the Western Wall.
In 1967 more than 400,000 Palestinians were expelled by Israel from their land, marking the second expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland since 1948 when more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled to neighbouring Arab countries by Zionist terror militias and 150,000 Palestinians became internally displaced inside the newly established Israeli state. It took Israel less than one week to forcibly displace Palestinians for the second time, with ninety-five percent of Palestinians fleeing to Jordan. A small number also fled to Lebanon and Syria.
I have included below photos from the 1967, as well as an extract from a 2004 bulletin issued by Badil, the Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refuge which gives a very good overview of the Naksa and its impact on Palestinian society.
I am also posting a link to an article I posted up a year ago about Israel's razing and ethnic cleansing of the Mughrabi neighourhood in 1967, which took place within days of Israel seizing control of Occupied East Jerusalem. The Mughrabi neighbourhood was ethnically cleansed in order to build the plaza which now stands in front of the Western Wall.
The article by Ben Lynefield originally appeared
in the American Jewish Forward. In the article Lynfield notes that
the destruction fo the Mughrabi neighbourhood “is an event either
unknown or repressed by most Israelis and Jews who visit the Kotel.
It is deleted from public discourse about the Old City".
Lynefield's article offers some valuable information on the razing of
the neighbourhood within days of Israel seizing and occuping East
Jerusalem and the ethnic cleansing of up to 1000 or more Palestinians
from their homes.
You can read his article by clicking here.
You can read his article by clicking here.
For an overview and facts on the 1967 war, see the Institute for Middle East Understanding's FAQ sheet (please click here).
in solidarity,
Kim
**
Al Naksa in Photos:
in solidarity,
Kim
**
Al Naksa in Photos:
Israeli military arrest Palestinians suspected of being members of Fatah
Palestinians arrested by Israeli military forces
Israeli soldier watch as Palestinian refugees flee across the Allenby Bridge into Jordan
A Palestinian girl carrying her sister as they prepare to cross the Allenby Bridge
Palestinians refugees flee across the bombed out Allenby Bridge at the River Jordan into Jordan
Israel razes hundreds of Palestinian homes immediately after seizing East Jerusalem leaving thousands homeless
**
From
the 1948 Nakba to the 1967 Naksa
Extract
from BADIL Occasional Bulletin No. 18, June 2004 (to
read the bulletin in full, please click here)
[Clipped section – Prelude to Al Naksa]
Mass displacement--ethnic cleansing
During
the second Arab-Israeli war in June 1967 some 400,000 Palestinians
were displaced. Half of them were refugees who had been displaced
from the part of Palestine that became Israel during the 1948 war.
This second displacement took less than a week. Ninety-five per cent
fled to Jordan and small numbers to Lebanon and Syria. About one
million Palestinians remained in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem,
and Gaza.
As in the 1948 Nakba, most refugees were displaced by Israeli military forces using tactics violating basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights law: attacks on civilians, massacres and other atrocities; expulsion; and destruction and looting of property. In Jerusalem, Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian men, forced them onto buses and sent them to Jordan. Some were beaten and then forced to sign papers saying they left voluntarily. At the border, refugees trying to return were shot at.
As in the 1948 Nakba, most refugees were displaced by Israeli military forces using tactics violating basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights law: attacks on civilians, massacres and other atrocities; expulsion; and destruction and looting of property. In Jerusalem, Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian men, forced them onto buses and sent them to Jordan. Some were beaten and then forced to sign papers saying they left voluntarily. At the border, refugees trying to return were shot at.
Scope of Displacement
The
Naksa altered the landscape of Palestine once again. About 1.4
million Palestinians lived in West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and Gaza
on the eve of the 1967 war between Israel and neighboring Arab
states. Until then, the majority of Palestinians living in the
central (except the Jerusalem district) and eastern interior of
mandatory Palestine had escaped the largescale displacement and
dispossession of Palestinians living in other areas of the country.
This included Nablus and Ramallah districts and portions of Jenin,
Tulkarem, Hebron, Jerusalem and Gaza districts.
More than a third of the Palestinian population of West Bank and Gaza was displaced during the war. By the end of 1967 the proportion of the indigenous Palestinian population outside its homeland had more than doubled. Nearly half of all Palestinians were now living in exile. Seven villages in West Bank, several refugee camps in the Jericho area, half of the city of Qalqilya, and the Moroccan quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City were destroyed. Depopulated and destroyed villages included Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba in the Latrun salient west of Jerusalem, and the villages of Beit Marsam, Beit Awa, Jiftlik, and al-Burj. In the period immediately after the 1967 war, Palestinian ownership and control of land fell by nearly 15 per cent in these areas
Denationalized and Dispossessed
More than a third of the Palestinian population of West Bank and Gaza was displaced during the war. By the end of 1967 the proportion of the indigenous Palestinian population outside its homeland had more than doubled. Nearly half of all Palestinians were now living in exile. Seven villages in West Bank, several refugee camps in the Jericho area, half of the city of Qalqilya, and the Moroccan quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City were destroyed. Depopulated and destroyed villages included Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba in the Latrun salient west of Jerusalem, and the villages of Beit Marsam, Beit Awa, Jiftlik, and al-Burj. In the period immediately after the 1967 war, Palestinian ownership and control of land fell by nearly 15 per cent in these areas
Denationalized and Dispossessed
In
September 1967 Israel conducted a census in West Bank, eastern
Jerusalem and the Gaza
Strip. Only Palestinians (and their offspring) registered in the
census were considered by Israel to be legal residents of the
occupied territories. It is estimated that 60,000 West Bank
Palestinians were abroad at the time of the war and so were not
included in the census nor were up to 30,000 Palestinian residents of
Jerusalem. Administrative measure effectively prevented Palestinians
abroad at the time of the war and Palestinian refugees displaced
during the war from returning to their homes.
Israeli legislation and military orders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip applied many of the same property laws already in effect inside Israel. Military Order No. 58 Concerning
Israeli legislation and military orders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip applied many of the same property laws already in effect inside Israel. Military Order No. 58 Concerning
Abandoned
Property (Private Property) enabled the government to acquire control
of refugee properties in the West Bank. Unlike the 1950 Absentees’
Property Law applicable in Israel, the military order for West Bank
has no time restrictions and thus enables Israel to continue to apply
the Order subsequent to the original displacement of Palestinians
from the occupied territories in 1967. Israel took control of state
land under Military Order No. 59, Concerning Government Properties.
Israel did not apply these same military orders to eastern Jerusalem. Instead, it applied its own domestic law, under the 1968 Legal and Administrative Matters (Regulations) Law. This law also established procedures for Jews to reclaim lost property in eastern Jerusalem after the 1948 war. Under the same law Palestinian residents of eastern Jerusalem were exempt from the 1950 Absentees’ Property Law; however, Palestinians living in eastern Jerusalem who lost properties in western Jerusalem or other areas inside Israel in 1948 were still considered as absentees in regard to their property in these other areas.
International Response
Israel did not apply these same military orders to eastern Jerusalem. Instead, it applied its own domestic law, under the 1968 Legal and Administrative Matters (Regulations) Law. This law also established procedures for Jews to reclaim lost property in eastern Jerusalem after the 1948 war. Under the same law Palestinian residents of eastern Jerusalem were exempt from the 1950 Absentees’ Property Law; however, Palestinians living in eastern Jerusalem who lost properties in western Jerusalem or other areas inside Israel in 1948 were still considered as absentees in regard to their property in these other areas.
International Response
In
June 1967 the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 237
calling on Israel to ensure the safety, welfare and security of the
inhabitants of areas where military operations took place and
facilitate the return of those inhabitants who had fled the areas
since the outbreak of hostilities. This resolution is reaffirmed
annually by the General Assembly. Several months later the Security
Council adopted Resolution 242 calling for a just settlement of the
refugee problem. In July 1967 the General Assembly also requested the
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA),
established in the aftermath of the 1948 war, to extend emergency
relief and assistance to Palestinian refugees displaced in 1967.
[clipped section]
[clipped section]
Since
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict began, the UN Security Council has
passed more than 200
resolutions on the subject but the trail of unimplemented resolutions
is long. They include Israel’s failure to: rescind measures
changing the status of Jerusalem; stop deporting Palestinians from
the occupied territories; and abide by obligations and
responsibilities in the 4th Geneva Convention. General Assembly Res.
194 on the right of return of 1948 refugees has not been enforced nor
have Security Council Resolutions 237 and 242 on the return of 1967
refugees and withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied
territories. Resolutions calling on Israel to comply with
international law have been vetoed more than 50 times by the United
States.
[clipped section]
[clipped section]
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