Today, Wednesday, our people in the homeland and diaspora commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, under the slogan: "We will not leave... Palestine is for the Palestinians..." and in rejection of the war of genocide and forced displacement, in defense of inalienable national rights, and in light of the ongoing targeting of the refugee issue, camps, and UNRWA.

For the second year in a row, the Nakba anniversary comes at a particularly special time, given the unprecedented catastrophic conditions our people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing due to the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression, which has lasted for 583 days. This scene echoes the bloody massacres committed by the occupation in the displaced Palestinian villages and towns.

The daily landscape in the West Bank is also marked by bloodshed. The Israeli aggression machine almost ceases its almost daily raids, destruction, killings, displacements, and arrests, accompanied by abuse, against Palestinian cities and villages. This is particularly true of the ongoing assault on the Tulkarm and Jenin refugee camps, which has resulted in the martyrdom and injury of dozens, the displacement of more than 40,000 people from their homes, and the systematic destruction of infrastructure.

At exactly 12:30, the sirens sounded for 77 seconds in various cities, marking the years of the Nakba. Our people stood in silence for 77 seconds during the sirens.

Large crowds commemorate the Nakba at a central festival in central Ramallah.

Large crowds of our people participated in the central festival, which started in front of the tomb of the late martyr Yasser Arafat and headed towards Al-Manara Square. During the festival, the Palestinian flag, black banners, and the keys to return were raised.

The march, called for by the Department of Refugee Affairs and the Higher National Committee for the Commemoration of the Nakba, was also attended by members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, members of the Revolutionary Council and the National Action factions, a number of ministers, and representatives of official and popular institutions and civil society organizations.

In a speech delivered on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's deputy chairman and Central Committee member, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, said the Nakba was the greatest crime committed in history, due to the scale and horrific nature of the massacres perpetrated against our people. Villages were wiped out, and a large portion were displaced both within and outside the country.

He added that the suffering of our people continues, and the occupation is trying to subjugate them until they give up their rights and their land, but it will fail, as always, in the face of our people's steadfastness and sacrifices.

He continued: "We commemorate this anniversary under difficult circumstances. There is a more severe and painful catastrophe currently being experienced by our people in the Gaza Strip, where the occupation is reaping the lives of children and women, and practicing massacres, siege, and starvation.

Al-Aloul added, "The massacres are extending to the West Bank governorates, and the settlers are practicing terrorism against the citizens, their land, and Islamic and Christian holy sites, under the protection of the occupation forces. This is in addition to the abuse of prisoners, which has resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of them in the occupation's prisons."

In a speech on behalf of the PLO and the factions, Ahmed Abu Holi, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee and head of the Refugee Affairs Department, reiterated that our people will not leave and that Palestine will remain for the Palestinians, despite the challenges facing our Palestinian cause. He also emphasized that our people will remain steadfast in the face of all destructive plans, including a war of extermination, forced displacement, the termination of UNRWA's role, the destruction of camps, and attempts to undermine the right of return.

He added, "We, in the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of our Palestinian people wherever they may be, affirm our people's right to self-determination and return to their homes. This is an inalienable right that does not expire with time. It is our people's right to strive for justice, liberation, and the building of their state."

He explained that our people's right of return is supported by international law and international legitimacy resolutions, calling on the international community to pressure the occupation to halt its war of extermination, starvation, and displacement in the Gaza Strip, and to halt Israeli attacks on West Bank camps and on Jerusalem, the capital.

He affirmed his absolute rejection of all attempts at forced and voluntary displacement, as well as policies of annexation and colonialism, thanking the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and all countries that stood against displacement.

He emphasized the Palestinian vision for confronting the challenges expressed by the President in all conferences and meetings, which aims to protect the legitimate rights of our people, implement international legitimacy resolutions, prevent urbanization, rebuild, and establish a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders.

Abu Holi called for an international conference to rebuild Gaza and the West Bank, stressing UNRWA's continued efforts to serve our refugee people. He called on the world to support UNRWA politically and financially, as well as the Palestinian government, and to pressure the occupation government to release our financial rights.

He called for recognition of the Palestinian state, pressure to halt the occupation's aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, reconstruction, and saving the two-state solution.

For his part, the General Coordinator of the Higher National Committee for the Commemoration of the Nakba, Muhammad Alian, stressed that our people are steadfast despite the groans, pain, and starvation, despite the siege and the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. They will remain loyal to the blood of the martyrs and will not depart. Palestine is ours and will remain ours.