62 years of the Palestinian Nakba

62 years of the Palestinian Nakba 1948 – 2009             On 29 November 1947, as a result of Zionist aspirations, the UN General Assembly voted the unjust partition of Palestine , into two states against the will of its own people. Today, we commemorate the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948 in which over 800,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their lands and displaced into UN refugee camps and host countries across the Arab world and beyond as a result of the establishment of the racist Israeli state. Over 500 Palestinian villages were completely destroyed; the conquered territory included 78 percent of mandated Palestine . Today, Palestinians remain the largest and longest lasting refugee population worldwide-70% of Palestinians living outside of our homeland and prohibited from return-  while those Palestinians who reside within Palestine live within a paradigm of foreign-settler-colonialism in which the occupying force, Israel, pursues the complete annihilation of the Palestinian people through the continued illegal annexation of Palestinian lands, torment-violence-torture-imprisonment-harassment and forced migration of Palestinians. What was once referred to as the land of Palestine has now become isolated ethnic enclaves creating the imagery of an archipelago of ghettos. Today, we Palestinians are witnessing one of the most devastating eras in history. As Israel continues its illegal siege on Gaza inhibiting Palestinians civilians from access to clean water, food, medicine, the right to mobility, work, education, and to resist the unnatural and illegal methodologies of ethnic cleansing and collective imprisonment. Recently the Zionist authority have issues a new Israeli military order labeling some of the Palestinian citizens in west bank as "Infiltrators" . Such an order further legalizes and institutionalizes Israeli processes of collective surveillance, terror, and punishment as well as the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestin! e by dislocating Palestinians of the West Bank once again.  Palestinians of both Gaza and the West Bank live as prisoners in their own homeland, entrapped in enclaves bordered by electric fences, concrete walls, roadblocks, and military outposts. Our children play within the dust and rubble of their demolished homes and our families await the release of their relatives in Israeli prisons who have become invisible in the eyes of the international community. Palestinians residing within the 1948 lands are subject to intensified institutional forms of racism and Zionist hegemony- the act of making the term and definitive value of "Nakba" illegal in Israeli secondary education text books is a primary testament to the eradication of the history of Palestine from the consciousness of the occupier. Jerusalem undergoes a Judaization project that too eliminates any trace of the Palestinian physical presence and cultural, political, or religious relationship with the land and the iconic monuments in which our people are forbidden to worship within.             During the so called the peace process the Zionist State has attempted to normalize its relations with the rest of the world, notably the Arab world, and silence dissident voices and solidarity movements. We call on them not to relax their vigilance and to maintain all their pressure on their governments and on the Zionists institutions. In Palestine , the occupation and colonization continues to persist and no concrete action has been taken to put term. On the 62nd anniversary of the critical moment that had characterized the Palestinian identity, quest for liberation and sentimental relationship with our homeland, we Palestinian youth of the world stand firm in our call for the internal reconciliation of all Palestinian parties and leadership. We call on our leadership to map a justice centered trajectory for our generation to utilize in our pursuits for a Free Palestine. We call on our people all over the world to continue working in all arenas against the illegal occupation of our homeland and victimization of our people.  We call on all our allies to stand firm against Israeli war crimes and violations of Palestinian rights as well as against the injustices of all colonized peoples of the world. We too call on the In! ternational community to take a position of strength, courage, and justice against the illegal acts of Israel by adopting the international Boycott Divestment and Sanctions of Israeli companies or any international companies doing business with Israel . The Palestinian Youth Network urges you to participate in all initiatives to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba and to stand steadfast in the defense of Palestinian rights, freedom, self-determination, Palestinian rights to Jerusalem and the Palestinian right to return to all of historic Palestine.    Until liberation, return and justice for all Palestinians The Palestinian Youth Network http://www.pal-youth.org