The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls for recognition of the Nakba as a "crime of ethnic cleansing"
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to recognize the Nakba of 1948 as a crime of ethnic cleansing committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, stressing that the Nakba is not an endless historical event, but rather a "continuous crime" that is renewing its manifestations to this day.
The call came in an official statement on the eve of the anniversary of the Nakba, where the ministry stressed the need to reparate the damage and realize inalienable rights, foremost of which is the right to self-determination, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return and compensation for refugees.
The Foreign Ministry pointed out that the displacement of some 957,000 Palestinians out of 1.4 million in 1948, and their transformation into refugees deprived of return, is the basis of a crime that "cannot be denied or justified."
The ministry reminded the international community of its political and legal responsibilities, stressing that the Nakba is a "Zionist colonial project" formulated since the Balfour Declaration with the aim of uprooting the Palestinians from their land and obliterating their identity.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stressed that the Nakba is a "continuous crime" that is manifested today in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and the accompanying bloody bombardment and suffocating siege, in addition to the continuous escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem through daily incursions, arrests, and the expansion of settlement activity.
Hamas: There is no legitimacy for the occupation. Resistance is a legitimate right
On the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, Hamas stressed that "there is no legitimacy or sovereignty for the occupation on the land of Palestine no matter how long it takes," calling on the world to criminalize the occupation and stop its "terrorism against the land, the people and the holy sites."
The movement said in a statement that the occupation has committed "the most heinous massacres and crimes" over the past 78 years, leading up to the genocidal war in Gaza over the past two years, which has left "deep and dangerous" humanitarian effects.
The movement stressed that the occupation government violates the ceasefire agreement through systematic shelling and direct targeting of civilians, noting that more than 850 Palestinians have been martyred since the agreement came into force last October, calling on the United Nations and human rights institutions to intervene to stop the "Prisoner Execution Law" and cancel arbitrary measures inside prisons.
Hamas stressed that the right of return is "an individual and collective sacred that cannot be conceded," and that the Palestinian people will continue to steadfast and adhere to their national identity despite the occupation's attempts to "raise awareness and obliterate the issue."
It called on the Palestinian masses to strengthen unity and solidarity, and to continue confronting the plans of displacement and ethnic cleansing, while calling on the Arab and Islamic nation to intensify political and humanitarian support for Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The movement praised the Arab, Islamic and global positions in support of the Palestinian right, calling on popular activities around the world to continue the solidarity movement in support of justice and the Palestinian people's right to freedom and self-determination.
On the anniversary of the Nakba.. the number of Palestinians exceeds 15.5 million
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the number of Palestinians around the world reached about 15.5 million people until the beginning of 2026, including 7.4 million living inside the country between the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip in addition to the territories occupied in 1948, compared to 8.1 million in the diaspora.
According to statistics, 8.1 million Palestinians live outside the country, most of them in neighboring Arab countries such as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, in addition to large communities in Europe and the Americas, and the number of refugees registered with UNRWA is 5.9 million, of whom 1.5 million reside in 58 official camps distributed over 5 areas of operation, namely the Gaza Strip, which is home to more than 1.7 million refugees, a third of them inside the camps, in addition to the West Bank, including Jerusalem. Some 914,000 refugees, a quarter of them inside camps, with more than 33,000 people forcibly displaced due to Israeli aggressions.
Jordan constitutes the largest refugee bloc in the world with about 2.4 million, only 18% of whom live in camps, and about 490,000 refugees live in Lebanon, more than half of whom live in camps due to ownership restrictions, while Syria has about 438,000 refugees remaining in the country, distributed over 9 official camps and informal areas, most notably Yarmouk camp.