Nakba Day, observed on 15 May, marks the 1948 displacement of the majority of the Palestinian people and the destruction of Palestinian society.
Key Facts
- Commemoration Date
- 15 May each year
- Event Commemorated
- Destruction of Palestinian society and mass displacement, 1948
- Official Inauguration
- 1998, by Yasser Arafat
- Earliest Unofficial Use
- 1949
- Relation to Israeli Independence
- Day after Israeli Declaration of Independence (14 May 1948)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948 led to the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages and the expulsion or flight of the majority of the Palestinian Arab population, an event Palestinians call the Nakba, meaning 'catastrophe.'
Nakba Day is an annual day of commemoration observed on 15 May, the day after the Gregorian date of Israel's Declaration of Independence. Officially inaugurated by Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat in 1998, the date had been used informally for protest and remembrance since at least 1949, marking the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people.
Nakba Day has become a central element of Palestinian collective memory and national identity, observed annually with marches, ceremonies, and political statements. It frames the Palestinian refugee issue within a broader historical narrative and continues to shape Palestinian-Israeli political discourse and international discussions about refugee rights and statehood.