Nakba (Arabic: النكبة), meaning “catastrophe,” refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians that began with the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. It marks one of the most significant and traumatic events in modern Palestinian history.
Key Facts:
Date: The Nakba is commemorated on May 15, the day after Israel declared independence in 1948.
Displacement: Between 750,000 to 800,000 Palestinians (more than half the Arab population of Mandatory Palestine) were forcibly displaced from their homes between 1947 and 1949.
Destruction of Villages: Over 400 Palestinian villages and towns were destroyed or depopulated during and after the 1948 war.
Refugees: The displaced became refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere, with generations still living in refugee camps under UNRWA.
Cause: The displacement occurred during the 1947–1949 conflict following the UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181), which proposed dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. War broke out between Jewish and Arab forces after its announcement.
Narratives:
Israeli narrative traditionally frames the war as a defensive act by a fledgling state facing annihilation.
Palestinian narrative emphasizes ethnic cleansing, expulsion, and the denial of return as central to the Nakba.
