On the 74th anniversary of the Nakba it is imperative to stop the massacre of Palestinians!

Today marks the 74th anniversary of the Nakba - the catastrophe that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and resulted in the violent expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, villages and towns to make way for newly arrived Zionist settlers.

Almost three quarters of a century later, and despite international recognition of the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause and the struggle of its people for their inalienable rights, the anniversary of the Nakba in 2022 remains marked by the brutal reality of Israeli occupation and repression of the Palestinian people, continued ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population, and violations of international law by the State of Israel with persistent acts of war against neighbouring countries.

In a report published on April 15, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documents the killing by Israeli forces, since the beginning of 2022, of 47 Palestinians, including eight minors and two women, in various incidents. Among the victims, 29 people, including seven minors and two women, were killed in shootings without any justification. At least eight executions were recorded under the pretext of suspicion or attempted stabbing. Six people were also killed in two extrajudicial executions in Nablus and Jenin.

Some 4450 people, including 160 minors, are incarcerated in Israeli prisons at this time, of whom 530 are under administrative detention.

Gaza remains under an inhumane blockade and, in the meantime, there are more and more orders to expel Palestinian families from their homes, as well as announcements of expansion of settlements in occupied territory.

Continuing a criminal practice of attacks on journalists, the Israeli occupation forces shot Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist from Al Jazeera television, in the head, and injured another journalist, Ali Samoudi. Al Jazeera Media Network stated: “In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine, Shireen Abu Akleh.”

In a shameful demonstration of the lack of the most elementary civic respect for the solemnity of the act, the Israeli forces charged over the participants in Abu Akleh's funeral, almost causing the coffin they were carrying to fall.

UN human rights experts, in a statement issued on May 13, said that “Abu Akleh’s killing is part of a continuation of the high rate of attacks against media workers, particularly Palestinian journalists. More than 40 Palestinian journalists have reportedly been killed since 2000, with hundreds injured or targeted for violence. Women Palestinian journalists also regularly experience violence in the course of their work just for being journalists.”

We should recall that exactly one year ago, during the brutal war of aggression against Gaza, the Israeli army razed an apartment building housing international news organizations. Far from being "incidents", this is a deliberate practice, aimed at silencing information about the crimes of the Israeli occupation forces. This is censorship taken to the extreme.

Israel continues to be a hotbed of war in the Middle East. In recent weeks, it has carried out numerous military strikes against neighbouring Syria - whose Golan Heights have been under Israeli occupation for 55 years. One of these incursions, on April 27, caused the death of five Syrian soldiers. Another attack, on May 13, left five dead and seven wounded, including a child. The danger of a major military conflict in the region is clear.

On this anniversary of the Nakba, the MPPM draws attention to the escalating violence in the occupied territories. MPPM recalls that the root cause of this worsening situation is the Israeli occupation and the denial of the national rights of the Palestinian people.

It is unacceptable that many decades of international resolutions and agreements recognizing the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause continue to be ignored and violated, and that the complicity of Western powers continues, with the US at the head, in the face of Israel and its crimes.

It is unacceptable that the Portuguese government has not yet recognized the State of Palestine, following the example of most countries in the world and the recommendation of the Assembly of the Republic.

It is unacceptable that the European Union's Association Agreement with Israel continues to finance Israel and its crimes, and that trade with the illegal settlements is still permitted.

MPPM underlines that the non-existence of any political process, aiming at achieving the end of the occupation, the promised creation of a Palestinian state on Palestinian territory, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the recognition of the status of Palestinian refugees under the terms of UN resolutions, opens the door to a tragedy in Palestine and the Middle East.

Those who deny political solutions will not be able to criticize tomorrow the Palestinian resistance to the occupation of their territory, whatever forms it may take.

All those who continue to hypocritically connive with Israel and its crimes - beyond pious declarations - will be jointly responsible for everything that happens.

May 15th, 2022

The National Directorate of MPPM