Ramallah – Monday – The National Higher Committee for Commemorating the Nakba held, today, Monday, its first preparatory meeting for the northern governorates at the Palestine Liberation Organization hall. The meeting was attended by Dr. Ahmad Abu Holi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, and Chairman of the National Higher Committee for Commemorating the Nakba; Executive Committee members Dr. Wasel Abu Yousef, Ramzi Rabah, and Bassam Al-Salhi; the Committee’s General Coordinator Mohammad Alyan; as well as representatives of national factions, PLO departments, a number of ministries, unions, professional associations, and popular committees in the camps.
The meeting discussed preparations for commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Nakba. The program of national events was reviewed, and the poster and central slogan for this year—“We Will Not Leave… Our Roots Are Deeper Than Your Destruction”—were approved, reflecting the Palestinian people’s adherence to their national and historical rights, foremost among them the right of return, and reinforcing messages of steadfastness in the face of ongoing policies of uprooting and displacement.
At the outset of the meeting, Dr. Ahmad Abu Holi affirmed that commemorating the Nakba this year carries renewed national messages amid the continued suffering of the Palestinian people and the escalation of occupation policies targeting Palestinian land and people. He stressed that the Nakba is not merely a historical event of the past, but an ongoing reality that is renewed in different forms.
Abu Holi explained that this year’s central slogan reflects the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their deep-rooted connection to their land despite all attempts at destruction and uprooting, affirming that adherence to the right of return represents the core of the Palestinian cause and a cornerstone of the Palestinian people’s struggle.
He pointed to the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and the extensive destruction it has caused to infrastructure, along with the direct targeting of civilians, in addition to the continued escalation in the West Bank, particularly in the northern camps, which are witnessing ongoing incursions and aggression targeting the camps, their infrastructure, and their national role as a living witness to the refugee issue.
He added that the city of Jerusalem and the camps surrounding it, foremost among them Qalandiya Camp and Shuafat Camp, are being subjected to systematic policies targeting the presence of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and its institutions, in an attempt to undermine its humanitarian and national role, despite it being the international witness to the استمرار of the refugee issue. He stressed that targeting it constitutes a direct targeting of the rights of Palestinian refugees.
He emphasized that these practices come within ongoing attempts to liquidate the refugee issue; however, the Palestinian people remain committed to their national constants, foremost among them the right of return, which does not lapse with time and cannot be bypassed under any circumstances.
In the same context, Abu Holi announced that the central event to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nakba will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, through the launch of the National Return March in the city of Ramallah. The gathering will be at 11:30 a.m., with the march setting off at 12:00 noon from in front of the mausoleum of the martyr Yasser Arafat.
He noted that there will be a complete halt of movement at 1:00 p.m. for 78 seconds, coinciding with the sounding of a mourning siren to be broadcast عبر mosques and local radio stations, along with the tolling of church bells, in a unified national scene embodying the symbolism of the anniversary.
Abu Holi called for the broadest popular and official participation in the event, the raising of Palestinian flags, and adherence to wearing black attire and the Palestinian keffiyeh, as an expression of national unity and adherence to the historical rights of the Palestinian people.
In his remarks, Bassam Al-Salhi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, affirmed that the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, the escalation in the West Bank, and the targeting of camps and UNRWA constitute an امتداد of the Nakba in its renewed forms, stressing the need to strengthen national unity and escalate popular mobilization in confronting these policies.
For his part, Dr. Wasel Abu Yousef affirmed that adherence to the right of return and the rejection of displacement projects constitute the political and national response to the crimes of the occupation, calling for the broadest popular and official participation in the anniversary events.
Ramzi Rabah stressed that the ongoing campaign against UNRWA aims to liquidate the refugee issue, underscoring the importance of strengthening national unity and escalating popular mobilization to confront these policies.
In turn, the Committee’s General Coordinator Mohammad Alyan explained that the committee will work to implement a unified national program of events commensurate with the scale of the challenges, including central and popular activities across various governorates and camps.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the floor was opened for discussion, during which a number of developmental proposals were presented, most notably the formation of a field committee to enhance popular mobilization, the expansion of activities to include camps in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Lebanon, in addition to organizing an awareness week in schools and universities, events in support of prisoners, and vigils in areas threatened with demolition, particularly in the vicinity of Qalandiya Camp.
The National Higher Committee affirmed that these proposals will be taken into consideration within the final plan of activities, in a manner that ensures broader popular and national participation and enhances media and public engagement in commemorating the anniversary in a way that befits its national and historical significance.
