69 years on, diplomat recalls Palestine’s ‘Catastrophe’

By Ugur Cil

ANKARA (AA) - Faed Mustafa, Palestinian ambassador to Turkey, spoke to Anadolu Agency on Monday on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the “Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic), when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their land to make way for the fledgling state of Israel.

The 1948 Nakba, remembered each year on May 15, changed the lives of the Palestinian people forever, Mustafa said.

"A natural disaster comes to mind when you use the word Nakba [in Arabic],” he told Anadolu Agency. “But the disaster perpetrated against the Palestinians [by Israel] led to more severe consequences than any natural disaster."

According to Mustafa, the population of Palestine in 1948 had stood at some 1,460,000. “But now,” he said, “it stands at only 800,000 due to the forced expulsions [of Palestinians] by Zionist gangs.”

Noting that 531 Palestinian villages had been completely leveled during the Nakba, the ambassador also pointed out that as many as 15,000 Palestinians had been killed at the time -- in more than 70 separate massacres -- by Zionist forces.

Mustafa went on to assert that, since 1948, some 78 percent of Palestinian territory had been illegally occupied by Israel.

-The ongoing Nakba

Pointing out that Israel continued to illegally occupy Palestine, Mustafa stressed that the Nakba “remains ongoing”.

"There is no difference between the Israeli mentality today and the one it had in 1948, when it brutalized the Palestinian people," he said.

"They [Zionist forces] slaughtered Palestinian villagers en masse in 1948,” he added. “Now they want to exterminate the Palestinians by destroying their homes one by one."

The Nakba is now remembered each year by some six million Palestinian refugees scattered across the globe.

"The Nakba commemoration gives strength to the Palestinian people," he said, urging the international community pressure Israel to halt its continued violation of Palestinian rights.

"One day Israel will have to account for all the murders it has committed," he said.

Noting that Israel was now trying to criminalize the commemoration of the Nakba, Mustafa recalled a quote by a former Israeli prime minister: "The old will die and the young will forget.”

The ambassador, however, replies to this assertion by saying: "How wrong they are; Palestinian grandchildren have not forgotten and they will never give up their rights or their land.”

-Thanking Erdogan

Mustafa went on to say that Palestinians had greatly appreciated a recent speech delivered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mark the inauguration of the International Forum on Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Waqfs.

"I listened to him [Erdogan] with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah,” Mustafa recalled. “His speech received great applause and was greatly appreciated in the Arab and Islamic world.”

Noting that Erdogan's speech had alluded to Israel’s decade-long siege of the Gaza Strip, Israeli attempts to ban the Muslim call to prayer in Jerusalem, and ongoing illegal settlement-building by Israel, Mustafa asserted that Israel -- as usual -- wanted to cover up its crimes by accusing others.

"Israel never listens to anyone else’s perspective and always tries to justify itself," he said.

-Turkey-Palestine ties

Stressing that Turkish-Palestinian relations were based on “brotherhood, love and respect”, Mustafa said the Palestinians shared the “sorrows and happiness” of the Turkish people.

Noting that the Palestinians were aware of the support they received from Turkey, he added: "We celebrated on July 15 [of last year] when we witnessed the failure of the attempted coup against Turkey."

The ambassador concluded the interview by calling on the Turkish people to visit Islam’s third holiest site.

"Just like President Erdogan said in his speech, we want to see Turks flock to Jerusalem," he said. "A visit to Jerusalem means a show of support for hunger-striking Palestinians incarcerated by Israel."

Led by jailed Palestinian resistance icon Marwan Barghouti, more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike on April 17 to demand better prison conditions.

According to Palestinian figures, Israel is currently holding more than 6,500 Palestinians -- including scores of women and children -- at 24 detention centers across the self-proclaimed Jewish state.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara