77 Years After the Nakba, Palestinians Face Ongoing Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
ALGIERS – Although 77 years have passed since the Nakba, its devastating consequences for the Palestinian people remain ever-present, fueled by the Zionist occupation’s genocidal war on Gaza and the continued ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank and Al-Qods, where Palestinians are being systematically displaced in favor of expanding Zionist settlements.
As Palestinians prepare to mark the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, the occupied territories are witnessing escalating violence. The Zionist entity continues its brutal aggression on Gaza while intensifying military operations in the West Bank and occupied Al-Qods in an effort to erase Palestinian Arab-Islamic identity and suppress all forms of resistance.
Ahmed Abu Holi, head of the High Committee for Nakba Commemoration and the Refugee Affairs Department, stated to APS that the ongoing Zionist assault across all Palestinian territories proves that the Nakba is “a crime still in progress.” He denounced the Zionist entity’s impunity despite its acts amounting to crimes against humanity under international law, attributing it to the appalling silence of the international community.
This year’s commemoration will take place under the slogan: “We Will Not Leave… Palestine Will Always Belong to the Palestinians”—a message of firm rejection of the Zionist entity’s displacement plans. Abu Holi affirmed that Palestinians have a sacred, historical, and legal right to return to their land from which they were expelled in 1948. “There is no power on Earth that can force Palestinians off their land,” he said.
Despite the ongoing genocidal war that surpasses even the horrors of 1948, Abu Holi emphasized the resilience of the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Al-Qods. He highlighted the powerful image of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians walking northward in January after a ceasefire, as a collective response to Zionist-American attempts to force them into permanent exile.
The Nakba commemoration will focus on tangible actions in support of Gaza, exposing Zionist war crimes, and increasing international pressure to end the aggression, halt settlement expansion, and reject any forced displacement of Palestinians. Abu Holi announced that international human rights advocates will also speak out to break the global silence and push for legal accountability for Zionist crimes.
He expressed hope for international intervention to end the war on Gaza, open humanitarian corridors, and prevent further civilian displacement. Palestinians, he added, hope to see an end to the international community’s double standards and to gain their legitimate rights—self-determination, freedom, and the establishment of an independent state with East Al-Qods as its capital.
Abu Holi called for a UN investigative commission to examine the Zionist entity’s war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Al-Qods, including attacks against UNRWA. He stressed the urgent need for both political and financial support for UNRWA so it can continue serving millions of Palestinian refugees.
Ultimately, he concluded, the Palestinian people are demanding justice, an end to aggression, and the realization of their rights long denied.
