(New York Times) Farnaz Fassihi - The UN General Assembly for the first time on Monday officially commemorated the Palestinian Nakba, or "catastrophe" - the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the war surrounding the creation of Israel 75 years ago. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the suspension of Israel's membership from the UN and received a standing ovation after his speech, which lasted over an hour. The U.S. and Britain did not attend. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, condemned the event as "shameful" in a letter he sent to diplomats on Sunday. "Attending this despicable event means destroying any chance of peace by adopting the Palestinian narrative calling the establishment of the State of Israel a disaster," Erdan said. To Israelis, the 1948 conflict was a war of survival against invading Arab armies and hostile local militants who committed atrocities and who rejected a UN plan to divide the land between Jews and Arabs. For many Israelis, the Palestinian exodus was largely voluntary, encouraged by Arab leaders, and was accompanied by the persecution and expulsion of Jews from their homes.
2023-05-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive