Israelis mark 'Independence Day' amid internal discord and confict with Palestinians

7.1 million Jews, nearly 3/4 of the population in Israel, are observing "Independence Day", or Yom Ha'atzmaut- a national holiday that marks the establishment of the state of Israel; which is known as the "Nakba" (catastrophe) for the Palestinians. 

The declaration of independence was read by the Polish-born David Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv 75 years ago following the departure of British troops from Palestine on 14 May 1948.

Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Israel's memorial day for fallen soldiers.

To Palestinians, the celebrations evoke memories of loss and mass displacement from their ancestral lands and, for many, a life in exile in neighbouring Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. 

On the occasion of Israel turning 75, The New Arab asked Palestinians about the meaning of it. 

Ismail Khatib is a registered Palestine refugee who lives in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem. 

The 56-year-old was born in the original quarters of the refugee camp in 1967, just before the war broke out. His parents were expelled from the village of Burj near the city of Ramle in 1948 by Zionist militias. 

"The greatest shame of Israel is that it was founded on the ruins of a living people. To this day, Israel still oppress and kills."

Ismail has never left Shuafat to live elsewhere. He is married and has seven children and thirty grandchildren, many of whom live in the camp. 

"The Zionist dream was to destroy the Palestinian people. We are five million and they are five million," Ismail added. In fact, according to official figures from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the number of Palestinians in all of historic Palestine exceeds 7 million. 

Abdel Fattah Doula, 44, is a former Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails. He spent 12 years in detention before being released in 2016. He lives in Ramallah. For Doula, the number 75 does not represent the creation of a state but rather the age of a "crime."

"I look at the number in a different way. They say 75 years since the creation of Israel, but we say 75 years since the Nakba of the Palestinian people and the uprooting of Palestinians by massacres and terror," Doula said. 

The Fatah member stressed that now is the time for international bodies to assume responsibility and fulfil the right of return to the Palestinian people.

This year, however, Israelis are commemorating the occasion under the weight of discord resulting from controversial legislation pushed by the ruling coalition but vehemently resisted by opposition members. 

On Tuesday, at military cemeteries, as Israelis observed "Remembrance Day," usually a solemn event, clashes erupted between proponents of the judicial overhaul and those from the anti-government camp. Israeli ministers were also heckled as they gave speeches at the ceremonies.

Israel's independence day starts on the evening of Tuesday and ends the following evening. Many Jews around the world also mark the occasion, according to Jewish media outlets. 

לפני הגעת בן גביר: עימותים בין משפחות שכולות בבית העלמין בבאר שבע@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/otx3cye9WD

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 25, 2023