Dr. Ola Awad, reviews the conditions of the Palestinian people via statistical figures and findings, on the 76th Annual Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba.
On the 76th Annual Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, Number of Palestinians Worldwide Doubled about 10 Times
Dr. Ola Awad, President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), via figures, historical and current data, reviewed the geographical, demographical and economic situation of the Palestinian People on the 76th Annual Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, which occur takes place on May, 15th; and those figures and data run as the following:
The Nakba: Continuous Ethnic cleansing, displacement of Palestinians, colonialism and taking over Palestinian Lands
Nakba in Palestine describes a process of ethnic cleansing in which an unarmed native nation was destroyed and its population displaced systematically to be replaced by Jewish occupiers from all over the world. The Nakba resulted in the displacement of more than 1 million Palestinians out of the 1.4 million Palestinians who were living in historical Palestine in 1948 in 1,300 villages and towns.
The majority of the displaced Palestinians ended up in neighboring Arab countries, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and other countries in the world. Furthermore, thousands of Palestinians – who stayed in the land controlled by Israeli occupation in 1948 – were driven out of their homes and lands which were seized.
According to the historical documentary evidence, Israeli occupation controlled 774 towns and villages and destroyed 531 Palestinian towns and villages during the Nakba. The atrocities of Zionist forces also included more than 70 massacres in which more than 15 thousand Palestinians were martyred, The Israeli occupation has been waging its aggression since the Nakba, and has escalated it sharply during the current aggression against Gaza Strip since October 7th, 2023.
More than 134 Thousand Martyrs since the Nakba, 1948
The number of Palestinian and Arab martyrs killed since the Nakba in 1948 and until this day (inside and outside Palestine) reached more than 134 thousand martyrs. Moreover, the number of martyrs killed in Al-Aqsa Intifada on September 29th, 2000 until April 30th, 2024 was about 46,500.
The number of martyrs in Palestine since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression against Gaza Strip on October 7th, 2023 until May 7th, 2024 reached about 35 thousand martyrs; more than 14,873 children and more than 9,801 women, in addition to more than 141 journalists were martyred according to the records of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza Strip.
In addition to the loss of more than 7,000 citizens, most of whom were women and children. While the number of martyrs reached 492 martyrs in the West Bank since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression on October 7th, 2023.
Israeli Settlements: Continuous Expansion
By the end of 2022, there were 483 Israeli occupation sites and military bases in the West Bank, including 151 settlements and 25 inhabited outposts that were considered as neighborhoods following established settlements, in addition to 163 settlement outposts, and 144 classified as other sites (industrial, tourists, service areas and Israeli army bases).
As for the number of settlers in the West Bank, it reached 745,467 settlers by the end of 2022, data showed that around 45.1% of settlers live in Jerusalem Governorate, where their number reached about 336,272 settlers; out of which 246,990 settlers live in East Jerusalem (J1) “includes those parts of Jerusalem which were annexed by Israeli occupation in 1967”, followed by Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate with 149,143 settlers, 98,384 settlers in Bethlehem Governorate, and 53,455 settlers in Salfit Governorate. Tubas & the Northern Valleys Governorate has the lowest number of settlers that reached 2,717 settlers.
In regards to demographics, the proportion of settlers to Palestinian population in the West Bank is about 23 settlers per 100 Palestinians. It was the highest in Jerusalem Governorate, where there were 69 settlers per 100 Palestinians. Accordingly, 2023 witnessed a significant increase in the pace of construction and expansion of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where the Israeli occupation approved the construction of more than 18,000 new settlement housing units in the West Bank, including Jerusalem Governorate.
USD 30 billion the initial direct losses due to the Israeli occupation aggression against
Gaza Strip.
Since the Israeli occupation aggression against Gaza Strip on October 7th, 2023, the Israeli occupation has destroyed more than 31 thousand buildings, 17 thousand severely damaged buildings and 41 thousand moderately damaged buildings, with a total of about 89 thousand damaged buildings, where 104 buildings of which belong to the United Nations.
Data showed that the number of housing units that have been completely destroyed is estimated to be 86 thousand, in addition to the partially destruction of more than 294 thousand housing units, constituting about 70% of the total housing units in Gaza Strip.
In addition to the destruction of schools, universities, hospitals, mosques, churches, and government headquarters, as well as the destruction of thousands of economic establishments and agricultural areas, and the destruction of all aspects of infrastructure, including streets, water lines, electricity, and sewage lines, making Gaza Strip an uninhabitable place to survive in. The initial direct losses due to the Israeli occupation aggression against Gaza Strip were estimated at approximately USD 30 billion according to the government information office.
Numbers of damaged buildings in Gaza Strip since October 7th, 2023, by type of building and type of damage
Type of Damage – Partially Damaged – Completely Damaged
Buildings – 58,000 -31,000
Housing Units – 294,000 -86,000
Hospitals – 25 -32
Schools & Universities – 311 – 103
Mosques – 321 -243
Churches -3
Government Headquarters – 181
During 2023, the Israeli occupation demolished and destroyed more than 659 buildings and facilities, completely or partially in the West Bank, including 70 self-demolition operations in Jerusalem, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in addition to issuing 1,333 demolition orders for Palestinian facilities under the pretext of not having a license.
