The Arabic word Nakba means catastrophe, or disaster. In reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the term Nakba or al-Nakba refers to the Palestinians having lost their homeland during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
It's thought that around 700,000 people in what is now Israel either fled or were forced from their homes. Many Palestinian refugees abroad remain stateless to this day.
May 15, 1948 was the beginning of the Arab-Israeli war and has long been a day that Palestinians take to the streets to protest against their displacement. Many carry Palestinian flags, bring the keys of their former homes or carry banners with the symbols of keys, illustrating the hope of returning home and what the community sees as their right to return.
In the past, some protests have turned into violent clashes. Israel has accused Hamas and other organizations that are listed by the EU and other countries as terror organizations of using the day to further their causes.
The term Nakba Day was coined in 1998 by then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He set the date as the official day for the commemoration of the loss of the Palestinian homeland.
Until the end of World War I, Palestine was under Turkish rule as part of the Ottoman Empire. It then fell under British control, the so-called Mandate for Palestine. During that period —........