US lawmaker reintroduces resolution recognizing Palestinian Nakba

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib reintroduced a resolution Thursday recognizing the 78th anniversary of the Nakba and reaffirming the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

“The Nakba never ended,” Tlaib said in a statement.

“Today, the Israeli apartheid regime is committing genocide in Gaza, violently erasing entire communities across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, and bombing Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. It is a campaign to erase Palestinians from existence.”

The resolution, titled “Recognizing the Ongoing Nakba and Palestinian Refugees’ Rights,” comes ahead of the 78th anniversary of the Nakba on May 15.

The Arabic term “Nakba,” meaning “catastrophe,” refers to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 war and the creation of the state of Israel.

Tlaib also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of seeking to permanently displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, and expand military threats into southern Lebanon.

“True peace must be built on justice and the inalienable right of return for Palestinian refugees,” she said.

The resolution is co-sponsored by several Democratic lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Betty McCollum.