Palestinians Commemorate 76th Anniversary of Dispossession Amid Ongoing Crisis in Gaza

The 76th anniversary of the Palestinian exodus from what is now Israel will be marked by Palestinians worldwide. The event, known as the Nakba or "catastrophe" in Arabic, occurred during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their homes. This number represents a majority of the pre-war population. After the war, Israel refused to allow these displaced Palestinians to return, fearing it would result in a Palestinian majority within its borders. As a result, they became a permanent refugee community that now numbers around 6 million people. In Gaza, refugees and their descendants make up approximately three-quarters of the population.