Arab League marks 75th anniversary of Nakba

As the 75th anniversary of Nakba (the catastrophe) is marked, it remains paramount that the world should not forget the Zionist regime’s crimes against the Palestinian people, said the Arab League on Monday.

Marking the occasion during an event, a statement by Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Aboul-Gheit — delivered on his part by Assistant Secretary for Palestinian sector affairs Ambassador Saeed Abu-Ali — said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an imperative to conduct a swift investigation into the ongoing crimes committed by Israel since its so-called inception.

International organizations, including the UNSC, must take a stance to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land to pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and centered on the capital of east Jerusalem.

According to Aboul-Gheit’s statement, the international community must also take action against the outrageous extreme right- wing policies of the Israeli government, which was antagonizing the people of Palestine.

The current Israeli occupation government refuses the two-state solution and blesses all actions aimed at boost illegal settlements throughout Palestinian lands.

Aboul-Gheit stressed that the Palestinian people have had enough of aggression and injustice that lasted for over seven decades starting 1948 when over 800,000 Palestinians were kicked off their lands and homes.

The Zionist forces had destroyed 531 towns and villages during Al-Nakba. Some 70 acts of genocide were carried out with 15,000 Palestinians killed in cold-blood, the statement noted, saying that since Al-Nakba some 100,000 Palestinians have lost their lives.

The impact of the day also affected over 5,000 Palestinians who dwelled in Israeli jails without justification or reason, the statement affirmed.

Also marking the occasion was member of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Dr. Ahmad Abu-Houli who stressed the importance of lifting the injustices befalling on the Palestinian people.

He called for a specialized committee of Arab experts to look into ways to free Palestinian prisoners in cooperation with the international community, saying that their cause must be highlighted worldwide.

An international conference should be held to protect Palestinian prisoners organized by the Arab League and similar to the one held in Iraq back in 2012, he added.

OIC condemns killing of Palestinians in Nablus

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Palestinian city of Nablus.

The OIC called on the international community to intervene to put an end to these ongoing Israeli crimes and provide protection to the Palestinians.

The Israeli army has killed at least three Palestinian fighters and wounded four others while firing live ammunition during a raid in Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israeli army and intelligence service said in a statement that the men were behind a attack on April 07 north of Jericho that killed two British-Israeli sisters when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Their mother also later died of her wounds.

Hamas, which is governing the besieged Gaza Strip, said the three men who were killed on Thursday were members of its armed wing.

Hamas, in its statement, claimed responsibility for the attack near Jericho that killed Rina and Maia Dee, and their mother Lucy, residents of the illegal settlement of Efrat, south of Jerusalem.

More than half a million Israelis live in some 200 settlements built on Palestinian land considered illegal under international laws.

The British-Israelis had been on a family outing during the Passover holiday, according to a statement issued by the council of Efrat, the Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank where they lived.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Jazeera that “the occupation is completely delusional that by committing its crime in Nablus, it will stop the resistance in the West Bank.”

The Al Qassam Brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, identified the men killed on Thursday as Hassan Qatanani, Muath al-Masri, and Ibrahim Jaber.

The brigade called them “heroes of the Jordan Valley operation that was carried out about a month ago, in which three settlers were killed, in response to the occupation’s crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the assault on Muslim women.”

As the funerals of the three men were held, political factions in Nablus went on a general strike on Thursday in response to the raid.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said four people were transferred to hospital for treatment and at least 150 people, including schoolchildren, suffered tear gas inhalation.

The raid followed an exchange of cross-border strikes between Israel and Gaza earlier in the week and more than a year of intensifying violence that has seen repeated Israeli raids in the West Bank as well as a series of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis.

Locals in Nablus said large numbers of Israeli troops, including undercover units, raided the Old City as residents were starting the day. The soldiers surrounded one house and exchanged fire with the Palestinian fighters inside, they said.

“So many men from the city have been killed,” a man who identified himself only as Kareem for fear of reprisals told the Associated Press news agency. “We are used to these raids. That’s the story of life in Nablus.”

Reporting from the city, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said there was “a tense mood”.

“We’ve heard chants of defiance at the funerals and vows to retaliate,” she said.