Aqsa Working Group Holds Palestine Nakba Day Commemoration

Bekasi, MINA – On May 15th every year the Palestinian commemorate Nakba Day, which is the anniversary of the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 by Zionist Israel and until now Palestinian refugees have not been able to return to their homeland.

As an NGO that focuses on the struggle for the liberation of Al-Aqsa and the defense of the Palestinian people, the Aqsa Working Group (AWG) will hold a seminar commemorating the Nakba day for support and solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The activity entitled “The Commemoration of Nakba Day, A Momentum to Raise Support for the Plight of the Palestinian Nation Against Israel’s Zionist Occupation” will be held on Thursday, 18 May 2023, at the Munif Chatib Hall Bekasi, West Java.

Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Zuhair Al Shun will present as a keynote speaker, there will be also Atallah Hanna (Archbishop of the Jerusalem Church), Prof. Ilan Pappe (Israeli Expatriate Socialist Activist and Historian), Issa Amro (Palestinian Advocate & Activist), dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad (Chairman of MER-C, Muhammad Sahrul Murajab (Functional Associate Diplomat from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia), Dr. Abdul Muta’ali (Lecturer at FIB UI), and A. Sylabi Ichsan (Editor of Republika).

The event will be closed with a prayer delivered by the Main Advisor of AWG, Shaykh Yakhsyallah Mansur.

In this event, we emphasize that the Nakba was one of the root causes of what we are witnessing today in the occupied land – Palestine. This tragedy is also the root of the continuing suffering of the Palestinian people. The Nakba is not a past event, it is still happening today.

Palestinians have experienced the events of the Nakba to this day in various acts of forced eviction and Israeli colonialism, such as looting of natural resources, blockade, annexation, repression, attacks on residences, segregation, fragmentation and isolation, demolition of houses, and implementation of planning and licensing systems.

This policy, among others, was implemented as part of the Zionist-Israel strategy which aims to seize the largest land area with the least Palestinian population. Forced displacement in Naqab, Sheikh Jarrah, the Jordan Valley, and the hills of South Hebron, particularly in Masafer Yatta, are clear examples of the Nakba which are still ongoing.

The triggers for the pressure that the continuation of the Nakba reflect the extent of international complications with the colonial regime and Israeli-Israeli apartheid in Palestine.

All mainstream human rights organizations then agree on the fact that Palestinians live in a situation of apartheid and that acting against Palestinians is part of an act of war crimes.

Despite many UN resolutions urging Israel to review and end its discriminatory acts, the international community still has not provided justice to Palestine for various reasons.

The word “Nakba” means “catastrophe” in Arabic, and refers to the systematic ethnic cleansing of two-thirds of the population of Palestine at the time by the Zionist paramilitaries between 1947-1949 and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society.

All mainstream human rights organizations then agree on the fact that Palestinians live in a situation of apartheid and that acting against Palestinians is part of an act of war crimes.

The events of the Nakba led to the tragedy of mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, its towns, and villages at the hands of extremist Jewish settlers and Zionist militias.

Massacres occurred in Palestinian villages when the Zionist militia carried out indiscriminate killings of unarmed residents and hid them en masse. It was estimated that around 15,000 Palestinians were killed, and more than 750,000 others had to flee their homes and live as refugees.

The Aqsa Working Group (AWG) is an NGO formed to accommodate and manage the efforts of Muslims to save the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

AWG was formed in order to accommodate and manage the efforts of Muslims to play the role of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and help the struggle of the Palestinian people.

AWG was founded by components of the community who attended the Al-Aqsa International Conference held at Wisma Antara on 20 Sha’ban 1429 H/ 21 August 2008 in Jakarta. (R/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)