From Civil Arab
You have to feel bad for the Israelis. They've tried everything to get rid of us. But we just won't die.
Over 70 years ago, Israeli militias entered our villages and towns. They came heavily armed, and heavily determined, to displace and dispossess us. They massacred entire populations. They demolished over 400 villages. They stole property. They were ruthless. And, from their point of view, they did a pretty good job. They turned about 800,000 Palestinians into refugees.
We Palestinians call that "al-Nakba." Or "The Catastrophe." We commemorate it every May 15.
In 1967, Israel commenced its military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. As a result of that war, another 300,000 Palestinians fled their ancestral homeland. A number of additional villages were destroyed. A couple refugee camps, which had housed some of those Palestinians refugees from 1948, were also depopulated. That means some Palestinians were made refugees by Israel twice in 20 years. That's gotta be some kind of record.
We Palestinians call that "al-Naksa." Or "The Setback." We commemorate it every June 5.
In 1976, after Israel announced it was expropriating hundreds of acres of private Palestinian land for state purposes, Palestinians called for a general strike and protests. In the ensuing demonstrations, six unarmed Palestinians were murdered by the Israeli military, with a hundred more wounded.
We Palestinians call that "Youm El-Ard." Or "Land Day." We commemorate it every March 30.
So, a quick review.
May 15: They stole our land.
June 5: They stole our land.
March 30: They stole our land.
As you can see, there's a theme.
In 2018, between March 30 (Land Day) and May 15 (al-Nakba), Palestinians in Gaza protested daily at the Israeli border. About 80% of Gaza's nearly two million residents are refugees from villages that are literally walking distance from their new homes. Israel murdered 183 Palestinians during that time. They massacred 60 alone on May 15, as Israelis and Americans were celebrating the new American Embassy in Jerusalem.
We haven't come up with a name for that day yet.
They've tried all these things to get rid of us. It just hasn't worked out. We just won't die.
But they've tried more. Settlements. Arson. Extrajudicial assassinations. Killing children. Killing pregnant mothers. Illegal evictions. The list goes on.
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