On 15 May 2026, the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People convened a special meeting at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters in New York to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nakba. The meeting opened with a solemn reminder that the Nakba is not only a historical event, but an ongoing reality for Palestinians. In the Committee Chair¡¯s statement, the Nakba was described as ¡°the catastrophe of dispossession, exile and loss,¡± and as ¡°not a chapter closed in 1948,¡± but ¡°a continuing catastrophe¡± visible in refugee camps, checkpoints, demolished homes, uprooted olive trees, and in Gaza, ¡°where entire neighbourhoods have been reduced to dust.¡±

Speakers drew urgent attention to the devastation in Gaza and the worsening situation across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The Chair noted that families in Gaza who survived bombardment now face hunger, disease, displacement, and the daily struggle to find water, medicine, and shelter. He challenged the meaning of a ceasefire that leaves civilians unsafe, saying, ¡°This is not a ceasefire. It is less fire. And less fire is not peace.¡± The meeting emphasized that peace must mean safety, dignity, the right to rebuild, the right to return, and the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own future.

The commemoration featured deeply moving testimonies from Palestinians whose lives reflect the enduring human cost of the Nakba and its present-day manifestations. The mother of Hind Rajab, the five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in 2024, shared her grief and asked the world not to forget Gaza¡¯s children, saying they ¡°deserve life, education, and they deserve a far better life than this.¡± Another testimony recounted the killing of a Palestinian child in the West Bank by settlers, underscoring the continuing impact of violence, loss, and fear on Palestinian families. Survivors of the 1948 Nakba also recalled displacement, destroyed homes, and the enduring longing to return, with one survivor saying, ¡°Palestine is my soul. It is all I dream and think about.¡±

The meeting also included remarks by senior Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ officials, representatives of the State of Palestine, regional groups, and Member States. Speakers reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination, the right of return, accountability under international law, and an end to occupation. The statement delivered on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas declared, ¡°We will not leave and we will not forget,¡± and stressed that the Palestinian people¡¯s rights to self-determination, independence, return, and sovereignty cannot be erased. Many delegations reiterated support for a two-State solution based on the pre-1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, and called for Palestine¡¯s full membership in the United Nations.

Throughout the commemoration, speakers framed the Nakba as a question of justice, memory, and international responsibility. The event honored Palestinian resilience across generations while calling for concrete action to end displacement, protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access, uphold international law, and achieve a just and lasting peace. As the Committee Chair concluded, ¡°Silence and indifference can never be an option in the face of such human suffering.¡± The message of the day was clear: ¡°78 years is too long,¡± and the Palestinian people ¡°have waited long enough for justice.¡±

Programme of the event

Opening?

H.E. Mr. Coly Seck?Chair, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Palestinian Rights Committee; Permanent Representative of Senegal

Statements by

Testimony of Ms. Wesam Hamada, Mother of Hind Rajab

Testimony from the family of Aws Al-Na¡¯san?

Tribute to Walid Khalidi, the historian of Palestine and the Nakba

Statements by Member States

Resources