Palestinians say the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians aimed at paving the way for the formation of Israel in 1948 – never ended. Instead, they believe it is still on the move, continuing to displace and kill Palestinians from their homes, communities and lands.
Last May marked the 75th commemoration of the Nakba. In the year since, there has been a staggering increase in the number of Palestinians killed, detained and displaced, largely against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza.
So, as Palestinians marked 76 years of the Nakba on May 15, Tel Aviv Tribune takes a closer look at how Palestinian lives have changed over the past year.
Death
The past seven months of conflict have led to an intensification of Israeli violence against Palestinians, leading to displacement and deaths.
In the year to May 15, 2023, 234 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank and 89 in Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In the year since May 15, 2023, 589 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or individuals in the occupied West Bank, including more than 124 children, and 35,173 in Gaza, including more than 14,500 children, OCHA reports .
Palestinians taken prisoner
In the year to May 15, 2023, 4,900 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons, according to estimates by the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a rights group based in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. About 1,000 people, Addameer reported, were being held in “administrative detention,” a policy created by Israel to allow the indefinite detention of individuals without charge, exchange of evidence or due process. There were also 160 child prisoners at that time, according to the rights group.
Since May 15, 2023, 9,300 Palestinians have been detained in Israeli prisons, Addameer estimates. Around 3,400 people are in administrative detention, while 250 children are detained, the group reports.
Tel Aviv Tribune has documented countless accounts of torture, medical neglect, starvation and sexual violence committed by Israeli forces against captive Palestinians.
There have been 17 deaths recorded within prison walls since October 7, an indication of the regular torture prisoners face.
Destruction
Before October 7, 2023, the demolition of Palestinian homes and buildings in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem took place regularly against a backdrop of international condemnation.
In the year to May 15, 2023, 1,046 structures were destroyed there, according to OCHA. In the year since May 15, 2023, an additional 1,274 structures have been destroyed, the UN agency reports.
Using legal justifications, including destroying homes built without permits – when it is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain permits – Israeli authorities have demolished countless homes.
Denunciations from international actors, including the United States, have done little to prevent the destruction of entire Palestinian villages, which have been emptied of their inhabitants either through official demolitions or incessant settler attacks. which pushed people to flee.
In fact, 2023 was the most violent year on record in the West Bank since OCHA began recording casualties there in 2005.
Since October 7, massive destruction has also continued in Gaza.
Nearly three-quarters of the structures in the besieged enclave have been partially or completely destroyed.
Since the start of the war and as of May 12, 60 percent of residential buildings have been destroyed while 80 percent of commercial facilities have been damaged, according to OCHA.
Additionally, 73 percent of school buildings have been damaged, 83 percent of underground wells are no longer functional, 267 places of worship have been destroyed and only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional.
UN agencies also estimate that the war has buried the strip under some 37.5 million tonnes of debris, which could take 14 years to clear.