The memory of the Palestinian Nakba remains a witness to a crime whose chapters have not ceased since 1948, when David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of his entity on the ruins of displaced cities and villages. This declaration came in a meeting in the occupied city of Jaffa, attended by representatives of the Zionist bodies that managed the armed robbery of Palestinian land and history.
The declaration of the alleged 'state' was based on what Ben-Gurion described as a natural and historical right, exploiting the UN partition resolution to legitimize the existence of a replacement entity. The discourse at the time outlined the mechanisms for the transfer of power from the 'People's Council' to a provisional government, a step that laid the foundations for the first Zionist institutions.
It is noteworthy that this entity has not issued an official constitution since its supposed date in October 1948 until today, which raises deep legal and political questions. Researchers believe that this absence is not a coincidence, but rather a strategic decision that serves the nature of the expansionist Zionist project.
Analysts attribute the lack of a constitution to the internal conflict between secular and religious forces, as the latter fear laws that might limit the extremist Jewish character. The absence of a constitution also gives the occupation flexibility to change its borders and laws to suit the pace of continuous settlement.
The entity's continued existence without a constitution means that the 'Zionist project' has not yet ended, and that it is in a constant state of movement to gather world Jewry and deny Palestinians. This situation allows Zionist institutions to operate outside the traditional civil state frameworks that might impose rights for non-Jews.
The dynamic relationship in Israel between politics and law is manifested as a conflict between the 'chaos of power' and the institutionalization of the state, where the ethnic current refuses to submit to a civil state. This refusal primarily aims to ensure that decision-making remains in the hands of Jewish national institutions that have excluded the original landowners.
In the context of legitimizing theft, the occupation authorities issued the 'Abandoned Areas' decree in June 1948 to gain absolute control over the properties of expelled Palestinians. The decree defined these areas as any place occupied by armed forces or whose inhabitants had fled under the pressure of military operations.
Zionist intelligence reports from that era revealed that the emptying of Palestinian villages was not voluntary, but resulted from direct hostile acts and systematic psychological warfare. These documents admitted that fear of retaliation and forced evacuation orders were the primary drivers of the first waves of refugees.
By the end of 1948, 'Emergency Regulations concerning Absentee Property' were imposed to tighten control over the properties of Palestinians who were prevented from returning. These regulations did not differentiate between those who left the country and those who were internally displaced, considering everyone 'absentee' with no right to reclaim their rights.
In 1950, the occupation moved to the 'codification' stage by issuing the Absentee Property Law, which replaced the previous emergency regulations. This law was designed to be a legal tool for the automatic transfer of Arab real estate and land to what is called the 'Custodian of Absentee Property'.
The law granted broad powers to the custodian to sell these properties to the 'Development Authority', a quasi-governmental body that acts as a front for property transfer. This complex legal process was essentially aimed at erasing the legal trace of Palestinian owners and establishing a new settlement reality.
This system was integrated with the issuance of the 'Development Authority Law' which allowed the sale of land to the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth). Thus, the conversion of Palestinian land into 'Jewish national property' was ensured, which cannot be disposed of or returned to its rightful owners under any circumstances.
Reading the course of the Nakba from the first Zionist Congress in 1897 until today reveals a continuous plan that enjoys international support and blatant complicity. The occupation's atrocities did not stop at physical displacement, but extended to include the falsification of laws to serve the colonial replacement project.
After eight decades of tragedy, the question remains about the utility of dealing with an entity that recognizes only the policy of fait accompli and military force. History proves that the Zionist system was designed to be in a state of permanent war with the Palestinian presence, which necessitates a language of confrontation befitting the magnitude of the sacrifices.
The project of establishing the Zionist state is an ongoing project, as the 'revolution' refuses to hand over its papers to the civil state to ensure the continued denial and marginalization of Palestinians.
شارك برأيك
The Ongoing Nakba: A Reading of Zionist Plunder Legislation on Palestinian Land