Suffering experienced by Palestinians one of greatest injustices in modern times: Palestinian envoy

"There is no doubt that the suffering experienced by the Palestinian people is one of the greatest injustices in modern times. This started with the ... of people's existence in their homeland, designing unjust colonial policies to control their land and resources and then practising a documented ethnic cleansing against them," Abualhayjaa said in the India-Palestine Friendship Forum.

While speaking at the Forum commemorating the 75th anniversary of 'Nakba', Abualhayjaa stressed that they cannot turn a blind eye to the consequence of the tragedy. He said that Palestinians despite living in exile across various nations and refugee camps continue to cling to their legitimate hopes and still retain the keys to their ancestors' seized homes.

"No matter how much time passes on the 75th anniversary of Nakba, it would be unfair to overlook Britain and the Western countries and their responsibility for this ongoing tragedy inflicted upon the Palestinian people. Most of them have been uprooted and displaced from their land," the Palestinian envoy said.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to the consequences of this tragedy, which generations of Palestinians continue to pay the price. So far, we are well aware that most Palestinian currently live in dismal refugee camps or are scattered across various countries ... around the world. However, they still cling to their legitimate hope and they still retain the keys to their ancestors' seized homes," he added.

Abualhayjaa said that Palestinian people continue to astonish with their determination to reclaim freedom as stipulated by international rights. He said that the Nakba commemoration is not a fleeting event.

"Generation after generation, the Palestinian people continue to astonish us with their unwavering determination to reclaim their freedom, independence and inalienable rights, including the right to return to their land and homes as stipulated by international conventions and resolutions," Abualhayjaa said.

"The Nakba commemoration is not a fleeting event. The Palestinian cause remains alive and its incident are continuous for example, the targeting of the town of Hawara in the West Bank by a horrifying collective arson campaign carried out by armed settlers, which was seen by the entire world, attempts to uproot Palestinian families from their neighbourhoods and towns continue, as seen in ... and Khan al-Ahmar," he added.

Abualhayjaa said that reports directly from the field sound the alarm over escalating policies of "land confiscation and the explosion of residents from Palestine villages and towns in the West Bank." He further said, "all these incidents give the impression that the aftermath of the Nakba has not ceased."

He called it a matter of urgency for the international community to act to protect the Palestinians. Abualhayjaa called on the international community to take rapid action to protect the people of Palestine and ensure their human security.

"As Israel is clearly intent on carrying on with such brutality and impunity, a fact affirmed daily by the inflammatory rhetoric and incitement and the streets made by Israeli officials, it is a matter of urgency that international community act to protect the Palestinian civilian population and to deter the preparation of more crimes by Israelis, the occupying power," Abualhayjaa

"We urge all states to pursue them collectively and in ... in line with their obligations under international law, including as high constructing parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to ensure respect to all circumstances. We thus call again the serious and rapid action to protect the Palestinian people and to ensure their human security and to bring an end to the illegal colonial Israeli occupation and apartheid regime that has been the cause of so much human suffering for decades and has precluded the realization of a just and lasting peace and security in the region," he added. (ANI)