Derry rally to mark 75th anniversary of the Nakba – the Palestinian 'disaster' of 1948

The local event has been organised by the Derry branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC).

The ‘Nakba’ – which comes from the Arabic for ‘disaster’ – refers to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians after the Palestinian war and David Ben-Gurion’s declaration of ‘the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel’.

Ahead of the rally at the weekend Chairperson of the Derry branch of the IPSC Catherine Hutton said: "Palestinians living within the Israeli state are second class citizens and Israel's occupation of the rest of historic Palestine only becomes more vicious by the day.”

She criticised the current government of Benjamin Netanyahu which has been described as the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

Ms. Hutton described the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians as akin to the South African Apartheid regime from the 1940s to 1990s.

"Palestine solidarity across the world continues to grow and the movement to boycott Apartheid Israel continues to achieve victories. Palestinians continue to campaign for an end to Apartheid and for the right of all Palestinians to return.

"On Saturday, May 13, there will be a global day of solidarity with Palestinians to mark the Nakba. The Derry rally will begin at 1pm at Free Derry Wall.

"We encourage all supporters of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice to join us."