Nakba

Literally, the “Catastrophe” in Arabic; a term Palestinians use to refer to the deliberate and systematic expulsions of about 750,000 Palestinians from Mandate Palestine by Zionist militias (and later, the Israeli army) and the establishment of Israel in 1948. The mass expulsions were accompanied by the destruction of more than 400 towns and villages and the property confiscation of those who had been ethnically cleansed from their homeland. Palestinians observe the depopulation of Palestine (Nakba Day) on May 15, the day after Israel proclaimed its independence.