1948 war

Abd Al Mannan Shbita speaks to Palestinian and Jewish Israeli activists, at the site of the former village of Miska, depopulated in the 1948 war, central Israel, April 22, 2026. (Iddo Elam, Zochrot)

Israel blocked the March of Return. Palestinians marked the Nakba anyway

After police prevented the main procession, families returned to depopulated villages across the country, keeping alive the memory of what was lost in 1948.

By Baker Zoubi April 28, 2026

A protester waves the Palestinian flag toward Israeli soldiers standing on the other side of the fence encaging Gaza, during the "Great March of Return," east of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, October 18, 2019. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills)

What a real ‘day after’ for Gaza could look like

Many of those displaced by the genocide are already Nakba refugees. Activists are mapping out how they could return to their original homes from pre-1948.

By Yahav Erez April 22, 2026

Photos of Palestinian refugees displayed at the entrance to the Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony in Beit Jala, the West Bank, May 14, 2025. (Combatants for Peace)

Remembering the Nakba while witnessing a genocide

As Israel destroys Gaza, Israelis and Palestinians gathered in Beit Jala not only to mark the catastrophe of 1948, but to elevate living Palestinian testimonies.

By Dikla Taylor-Sheinman May 19, 2025

Latest

+972 editor Vera Sajrawi stands in front of the well in the depopulated village of Al-Sajara. (Maria Zreik)

‘Your grandparents couldn’t return to Al-Sajara. But I know they died hoping’

Little remains of the village from which +972 editor Vera Sajrawi’s grandparents were uprooted in 1948. Living out the rest of their lives close by as internal refugees, they yearned for what was taken from them.

By Vera Sajrawi September 22, 2023

Berlin police arrest a Palestinian protester during a Nakba Day flash mob, after banning all commemorations of the day in the city, May 1, 2022. (@thequestionislysh)

Where can we Palestinians mourn our catastrophe?

By banning our ability to mourn the Nakba, Germany is opening the floodgates to a new wave of repression against all aspects of Palestinian identity.

By Hebh Jamal May 18, 2023

Palestinians gather around a winepress in Ain Karem, January 1, 1920. (Library of Congress)

I’m a Nakba survivor. In the ruins of my home, I write my hopes in stone

Every year I visit the Palestinian village I was expelled from in 1948. Now in the U.S., I dream my children will rebuild the land based on justice and equality.

By Leila Giries May 16, 2023

Rachel Beitarie, Executive Director of the left-wing Israeli NGO Zochrot, sits in front of the Jaffa Clock Tower. Around 95% of Jaffa's Palestinian population fled or were expelled during the Nakba. (Oren Ziv)

The Israeli left has broken the Nakba taboo. Will the right of return be next?

The past year has seen many left-wing Israeli groups looking beyond the occupation to confront the legacies of 1948, but they remain divided over redressing the exile of Palestinian refugees through return.

By Ben Reiff June 23, 2022

An Israeli soldier drinks water as Palestinians look on after Israeli forces conquer Be'er Sheva during the 1948 war, October 22, 1948. (Hugo Mendelson/GPO)

Carpets, books, and jewelry: Why looting was central to the Nakba

A recent book documents the rampant looting of Palestinian belongings in 1948, but fails to recognize it as part of Israel's wider goal of dispossession.

By Avi-ram Tzoreff March 24, 2022

Members of Amnesty International, including Saleh Hijazi (left) hold a press conference in Jerusalem announcing the release of the organization's report on Israeli apartheid, February 1, 2022. (Oren Ziv)

Why Amnesty is taking aim at the ‘root causes’ of Israeli apartheid

Amnesty International's Saleh Hijazi speaks to +972 about his organization's new report, the Israeli government’s harsh response, and why our analysis of Israeli apartheid needs to begin from 1948.

By Edo Konrad February 1, 2022

Hundreds of members of the Arab Liberation Army attend the funeral of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni at the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, April 8, 1948. (GPO)

Who fought in 1948?

A new book uncovers letters by Jewish and Arab fighters from the 1948 war, highlighting the personal lives of those who fought to establish Israel and those who tried to defend Palestine.

By Tom Pessah September 22, 2021

An aerial view of the Asi River in Kibbutz Nir David, August 9, 2020. (Menachem Lederman/Flash90)

In one kibbutz, coexistence becomes an existential threat

The struggle to access a river in northern Israel has become a symbol of the discrimination Mizrahim face — and the myths Zionism tells about this land.

By Omri Najad August 16, 2021

Members of Kibbutz Amir working in the Papyrus thicket of the Hula Swamps, June 30, 1940. (Kluger Zoltan/GPO)

Why does the JNF still exist?

The forefathers of Zionism never hid their desire to use the Jewish National Fund to dispossess Palestinians. On its 120th anniversary, now is the time to abolish it.

By Yaara Benger Alaluf July 8, 2021

A Palestinian woman picks olives outside Bethlehem, West Bank, October 6, 2011. (Doron Horowitz/Flash90)

The olive trees that tell the story of Palestinian dispossession

The Palestinians of Saffuriya were expelled by force and barred from returning during 1948, leaving behind them ancient olive trees that today are tended to by Israeli Jews.

By Meron Rapoport April 28, 2020