Thread by @AJEnglish

#OnThisDay 74 years ago the #Nakba took place in Palestine.

For Palestinians it is the most solemn day in their calendar that symbolises their struggle for justice and an end to Israeli occupation.

But what is the #Nakba? Here’s an explainer from the #AJArchive 👇

Today marks the 74th #Nakba Day, when Israel was established as a Jewish-majority state at the expense of the forced expulsion of about 750,000 Palestinians from their own land and the destruction of some 530 villages.

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Palestinians commemorate 74th #Nakba Day — in pictures aje.io/rsv57z

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip marked #Nakba Day by paying tribute to Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank.

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“The level of international consciousness… is unprecedented.”

The president of Reporters Without Borders tells Al Jazeera that without an international investigation, there will be no accountability for the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh ⤵️

Zionist military forces expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands and captured 78% of historic Palestine.

The remaining 22% was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

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Palestinian ambassador to the UK tells Al Jazeera that international governments and systems are “complacent and complicit” when it comes to illegal Israeli settlements: “For them, Israel is the exception to the rule… Israel is above the law.”

“This is all designed to destroy the possibility of a state of Palestine.”

Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh has told Al Jazeera that the two-state solution is still viable, despite Israel’s efforts to fragment the Palestinian territory.

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The shockwaves of the #Nakba are still reverberating today.

Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes, leaving everything behind. Al Jazeera’s Nick Clark met one woman as she visited her childhood home, now occupied by settlers ⤵️

“We still believe that Palestine, after 70 years of occupation, belongs to Palestinians."

The Nakba is an expression of "our sadness, of our suffering, of our pain", says senior Hamas official.

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At least 16 Palestinians have been injured after Israeli occupation forces attacked a #Nakba rally taking place at the northern entrance to al-Bireh, an occupied West Bank city located 15km from Jerusalem.

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Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist military forces attacked major Palestinian cities and destroyed some 530 villages.

About 15,000 Palestinians were killed in a series of mass atrocities, including dozens of massacres.

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Israeli settlements are heavily fortified Jewish communities built illegally on Palestinian land.

The Israeli government has openly funded and built settlements for Israeli Jews to live in, offering incentives and subsidised housing.

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"There has just been too much killing, maiming, and destruction. It will take many years of work towards justice and conciliation to heal a brutalised people."

— writes @AyyashMark for #AJOpinion ⤵️ aje.io/fhcp59

@AyyashMark Israel’s military control over the Palestinian people affects every aspect of their lives.

International NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Israel is “committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians”.

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Local Bedouin families in Masafer Yatta are battling to stop what could be one of the largest single displacements of Palestinians by Israel in decades aje.io/xfg4f8