British-Palestinian MP Layla Moran brings Nakba Bill to UK Parliament

British-Palestinian MP Layla Moran presented a motion to the UK parliament on Monday urging an annual commemoration of the Nakba, or "Catastrophe", that befell the Palestinian people in 1948.

Moran, who serves as the Liberal Democrats’ Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, brought the Nakba Commemoration Bill to parliament on Monday as the world marked the 75th anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine that made way for the creation of Israel. Layla Moran is the UK's first MP of Palestinian descent.

"My own family were forced to flee Jerusalem during the Nakba. 5 and a half million Palestinian refugees worldwide now share a state of dispossession," Moran said in a statement to The New Arab.

"I take it upon myself, as the next generation, to carry Palestine in my heart and do whatever I can to safeguard its future."

An early day motion submitted by Moran last week urged the UK to "immediately recognise a Palestinian state" and continue funding for the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Also on Monday, the UN made history by holding its first-ever official Nakba commemoration at its headquarters in New York.

The event, which was boycotted by Israel, saw Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas deliver a speech in which he urged the international body to suspend Israel from the body.

Israel was established on 14 May 1948, following a UN vote in November 1947 that divided the British Mandate for Palestine into two states - one Arab, one Jewish.

Today marks 75 yrs since the Nakba, when 750,000 Palestinians were driven out of their homes. 5.5 million Palestinians now share this state of dispossession, including my own family.#Nakba75 pic.twitter.com/thuTdoQbMq

— Layla Moran 🔶 (@LaylaMoran) May 15, 2023

Jewish militias expelled over 750,000 Palestinians and committed a number of massacres after the vote, as it seized territory allocated to the Arab state which never materialised.

Israel seized other parts of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and the West Bank, in 1967 which have remained under occupation ever since.

The UK's role in the events leading up to the mass Palestinian displacement has long been recognised, with President Abbas last year urging the former colonial power to apologise.

Moran's statement on Monday also made reference to Britain's historical involvement.

"I am calling on the government to start a new chapter, commemorating this catastrophe and recognising our historic obligation to the region," she said.