WASHINGTON
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib introduced a resolution on Wednesday to recognize the Palestinian Nakba, the term referring to the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland during the creation of Israel in 1948.
"The Nakba never ended. Today we are witnessing the Israeli apartheid government carry out genocide in Gaza, a campaign to erase Palestinians from existence," Tlaib said in a statement.
Over 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes and over 35,000 have been killed, Tlaib said, adding children are starving to death and the entire population of Gaza is on the brink of famine.
Mass graves with over 390 bodies were recently discovered at Nasser and Al Shifa hospitals, she said.
"As we mark the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, we honor all the lives lost since the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians began, and the Palestinians who were forced from their homes and violently displaced from their land.
"This immense trauma, including the loss of their loved ones and connections to the communities they grew up in, needs to be acknowledged. True peace must include the presence of justice," Tlaib added.
Tlaib’s resolution, which commemorates the 76th anniversary of the Nakba -- which means "catastrophe" in Arabic -- and promotes better education and understanding of this well-documented historical event, also calls on Congress to reinstate support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
The resolution is cosponsored by Congress members Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush and Andre Carson.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year which killed about 1,200 people.
More than 35,200 Palestinians have since been killed in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, and over 79,000 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
In the West Bank, nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured since then, along with daily arrest campaigns by the Israeli army.
Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
