What is Nakba Day and why do people protest to mark it?

On May 15 each year, millions of people around the world commemorate 78 years since the 'Nakba' - Arabic for catastrophe - which saw the beginning of the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes during the creation of the state of Israel. 

What is Nakba Day?

While Nakba Day is marked annually on May 15, displacement of Palestinians had been underway throughout the 1940s, as tensions grew between the indigenous population and Jewish refugees arriving from Europe. 

The catalyst for the Nakba can be pinpointed to 1947, when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution to divide Palestine into one Jewish and one Arab state, with Jerusalem to be placed under UN administration. 

The plan was rejected by the Arab world, which said it violated the UN Charter. Meanwhile, Zionist militias attacked hundreds of Palestinian villages, driving thousands from their homes in what became known as the civil war of Mandatory Palestine.  

On May 14th 1948, the British officially withdrew from what was the British Mandate of Palestine, allowing for the official declaration of the independent state of Israel. The following day, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria invaded what was now Israel, instigating the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. 

It was during this 10-month conflict that more than half of Palestine's Arab population were expelled, their homes and belongings suddenly taken over by Zionist families, with the locks to their houses changed. Today, keys remain a symbol of the Palestinian plight, and the hope to return to the homes they were forced from. 

The war was concluded with a series of armistice agreements between Israel and its neighbors between February and July 1949, resulting in the controversial 'Green Line' which demarcated 78% of historic Palestine under Israeli control. 

The remaining 22% was then captured by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War, and divided into what is now the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Why are people protesting around the world?

Nakba Day was officially inaugurated by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 1998. Ever since, demonstrations have been held by the Palestinian diaspora to commemorate the loss of their homeland. 

Today, May 15 also serves as a key way to protest current Israeli policies against Palestinians, with the conflict in Gaza being a focal point over the last three years. Israel's attacks on Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon are also likely to attract anti-war protesters. 

Which cities are people protesting in?

This year, an estimated 736 events across 39 countries commemorating the Nakba will take place over the weekend, in major cities including London, Sydney, New York, Chicago and Paris. 

Commemoration events have already been taking place across the Palestinian territories, with thousands marching in the city of Ramallah with a giant Palestinian flag to remember the 78th anniversary of the Nakba.

What has happened at previous protests?

While the protests are billed by organizers as peaceful remembrance demonstrations, there have been occasions where tensions have risen between protesters, counter-protesters and security forces.

In Berlin last year, police reported making over 50 arrests at a Nakba Day demonstration. Videos of German police appearing to assault protesters as they detained them quickly went viral on social media. 

In the Palestinian territories, protests have been subject to heavy regulation by Israeli police and military forces, sometimes with fatal consequences. 

An infamous case was the 2014 Beitunia killings, where during Nakba Day protests, two Palestinian teenagers were killed outside the notorious Ofer Prison in the West Bank. Israel described the protest as a riot but in a later court case, an Israeli Border Police Officer was convicted of causing death by negligence and sentenced to jail time. 

All eyes on London

This Saturday, the UK's capital is host to two major protests: the annual Nakba Day commemoration march, and a separate "Unite the Kingdom" march, led by controversial right-wing activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as 'Tommy Robinson'.

The city's Metropolitan Police are deploying 4,000 officers to ensure that the protests remain peaceful and do not clash with one another – or with the 85,000 football fans set to attend the FA Cup final the same afternoon. 

On-the-ground officers will be joined by specialist traffic units, mounted officers, dogs, helicopters, drones, detectives, and specialist armed vehicles available as a high-level contingency. 

Live facial recognition technology will also be deployed, in an area likely to be attended by Unite the Kingdom protesters.