Israeli settlements continue as Palestinians prep ICC submission
4/8/2015
A Palestinian woman stands near furniture removed from her house as it is being demolished in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, Oct. 29, 2013.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians marked the 39th anniversary of Nakba Day on March 31, staging various events in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the 1948 territory.
Palestinians have been consistently commemorating Nakba since March 30, 1976, when six Palestinians were killed inside the Green Line following marches in the Galilee, the Triangle and the Negev in response to Israel's decision to confiscate 21 acres of the villages of Araba, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna and Arab as-Sawaed.
The observance of Nakba Day opened a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle inside the Green Line, being the first of its kind since the occupation of Palestine in 1948. The commemoration reminds Palestinians of their cause every year: the land that Israel continues to loot, undermining the Palestinians’ effort to establish a state of their own. It also prompts them to evaluate what is left to them.
According to a report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on the occasion of Nakba Day, “Israel seized 85% of the historic Palestine land, which stretches along 27,000 square kilometers [17,000 square miles], while Palestinians only benefit from about 15% of that space.”
According to the report, Israel demolished 500 houses in Jerusalem between 1967 to 2000 and 1,342 houses since 2000 so far.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/palestine-land-day-israel-settlments.html#ixzz3X0uGZtCI