Palma remembers the Nakba with a concentration in support of the Palestinian people

PalmDozens of people gathered this Saturday midday in Palma's Plaza de España in solidarity with the Palestinian people, coinciding with the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, the term used to remember the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

The call, which began at 12 noon, has served to denounce “the military occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide” that, according to the organizers, the Palestinian people are currently suffering. During the event, participants have claimed that “the Nakba is not the past, but the present”, and have criticized ‘impunity and international complicity’ in the face of the situation in Palestine.

Likewise, the demonstrators have formed a chain with signs on which could be read 'Nakba 78 years of genocide', under the call of Mallorca per Palestina, Ciutadans per Palestina, Justícia i Pau Mallorca, Mallorca per la Pau, Les Balears Acollim, Global Sumud Flotilla, Attac Mallorca, Inca Mallorca Solidària, Embargament Ja i Marxes de Mallorca per Palestina, among others.

The Nakba –which in Arabic means “catastrophe”– refers to the exodus of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 war, an episode that continues to be one of the main symbols of the Palestinian national claim. Likewise, the protesters have lamented that "thousands of people are dying under the bombs, but also from hunger, lack of medical assistance and neglect".

They have also condemned the repression against civil initiatives of international solidarity, such as the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is once again sailing towards Gaza. "The recent arrest and subsequent deportation of activists Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila evidences the criminalization of these humanitarian missions", they have stated.

In this regard, they have demanded the release of thousands of imprisoned Palestinian political prisoners and have denounced the systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian population. "No to the Nakba, no to genocides, no to wars, no to gag laws", they concluded.