10 apr 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015, is the 67th anniversary of Deir Yassin village massacre when fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun, Zvai Leumi, and Lohamei Herut Israel attacked the village. Hundreds of Palestinian women, children, and elderly were killed.
The massacre is still living in the minds of the Palestinians, especially the refugees in the West Bank. The 67th anniversary of Deir Yassin massacre coincides with the massacres practiced against the Palestinians of the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus. Mahmoud Hasaina, a Palestinian from Tulkarem, said, "It was a horrible and a painful massacre. Unfortunately, such massacres are repeated one way or the other in the Yarmouk Camp nowadays."
Sidqi Nasser, a Palestinian citizen of Nablus City, compared Deir Yassin massacre of 1948 and the Yarmouk massacre of nowadays, saying, "Deir Yassin massacre was monstrous, and so is the Yarmouk massacre. But the Yarmouk Camp is still steadfast, following the path of our people in the besieged Gaza Strip."
The right of return
“The massacres tighten our grip on our right of return and push us to demand our usurped rights more loudly. Those who attacked women in Deir Yassin and those who behead the people of the Yarmouk will never gain victory and will be defeated sooner or later," Nasser added.
Naem Hamdan, a Palestinian refugee, recalled Menachem Begin's words that if it hadn't been for Deir Yassin massacre, the State of Israel would have never been established. Hamdan said, "An oppressive entity born in massacres and terrorism would not last long."
Mohsen Mostafa from Ramallah said, "Images of brutality in Deir Yassin are unforgettable; it was a horrible and a frightening massacre, killing hundreds of women, kids, elderly, and youth. Zionist gangs, headed by the terrorist Menachem Begin, slit open the pregnant women with cold blood. Nowadays, a similar massacre is practiced against the Palestinians in the Yarmouk Camp, and the world is standing as a spectator."
Regarding the timing of the massacre, Mostafa said, "The timing was carefully executed as the massacre helped the Zionists displace more Palestinians since the Arab media was passive. It also took place two weeks after signing a peace pact as demanded by the neighboring Jewish settlements, and the simple people of Deir Yassin accepted that pact."
Pursuing Refugees
Palestinians of the West Bank are closely watching what is happening in the Yarmouk Camp and they believe it is a criminal act. Basel Ahmad, a refugee from Balata refugee camp, commented, "Pursuing the Palestinian refugees in the diaspora, and killing the people of the Yarmouk, just like what happened in Nahr al-Bared, is a shameful and unacceptable act."
According to the Palestinian Encyclopedia, the Zionist gangs attacked Deir Yassin village near Jerusalem at three a.m. in the morning. The people of the village opened fire at the invading gangs, who were supported by an armored vehicle. The unexpected Palestinian reaction killed four armed Zionists, and 32 injured. The gangs were backed up by the Haganah and they managed to recover the injured members. They then opened fire indiscriminately on the people of the village, killing 350 men, children, women, and elderly.
The massacre is still living in the minds of the Palestinians, especially the refugees in the West Bank. The 67th anniversary of Deir Yassin massacre coincides with the massacres practiced against the Palestinians of the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus. Mahmoud Hasaina, a Palestinian from Tulkarem, said, "It was a horrible and a painful massacre. Unfortunately, such massacres are repeated one way or the other in the Yarmouk Camp nowadays."
Sidqi Nasser, a Palestinian citizen of Nablus City, compared Deir Yassin massacre of 1948 and the Yarmouk massacre of nowadays, saying, "Deir Yassin massacre was monstrous, and so is the Yarmouk massacre. But the Yarmouk Camp is still steadfast, following the path of our people in the besieged Gaza Strip."
The right of return
“The massacres tighten our grip on our right of return and push us to demand our usurped rights more loudly. Those who attacked women in Deir Yassin and those who behead the people of the Yarmouk will never gain victory and will be defeated sooner or later," Nasser added.
Naem Hamdan, a Palestinian refugee, recalled Menachem Begin's words that if it hadn't been for Deir Yassin massacre, the State of Israel would have never been established. Hamdan said, "An oppressive entity born in massacres and terrorism would not last long."
Mohsen Mostafa from Ramallah said, "Images of brutality in Deir Yassin are unforgettable; it was a horrible and a frightening massacre, killing hundreds of women, kids, elderly, and youth. Zionist gangs, headed by the terrorist Menachem Begin, slit open the pregnant women with cold blood. Nowadays, a similar massacre is practiced against the Palestinians in the Yarmouk Camp, and the world is standing as a spectator."
Regarding the timing of the massacre, Mostafa said, "The timing was carefully executed as the massacre helped the Zionists displace more Palestinians since the Arab media was passive. It also took place two weeks after signing a peace pact as demanded by the neighboring Jewish settlements, and the simple people of Deir Yassin accepted that pact."
Pursuing Refugees
Palestinians of the West Bank are closely watching what is happening in the Yarmouk Camp and they believe it is a criminal act. Basel Ahmad, a refugee from Balata refugee camp, commented, "Pursuing the Palestinian refugees in the diaspora, and killing the people of the Yarmouk, just like what happened in Nahr al-Bared, is a shameful and unacceptable act."
According to the Palestinian Encyclopedia, the Zionist gangs attacked Deir Yassin village near Jerusalem at three a.m. in the morning. The people of the village opened fire at the invading gangs, who were supported by an armored vehicle. The unexpected Palestinian reaction killed four armed Zionists, and 32 injured. The gangs were backed up by the Haganah and they managed to recover the injured members. They then opened fire indiscriminately on the people of the village, killing 350 men, children, women, and elderly.
Dozens of Tunisian participated in a rally held in the capital to commemorate the 67th anniversary of Israel's Deir Yassin massacre against Palestinian civilians, which coincided with the 77th anniversary of the Martyrs’ Day in the country.
The rally was staged by the Tunisian coalition for fighting Zionism and criminalizing normalization.
The demonstrators carried banners calling on the Tunisian parliament to criminalize the normalization of relations with Israel.
The Tunisian coalition to fight Zionism and criminalize normalization comprises a consortium of nationalist parties and associations, including the Tunisian League for Tolerance, the Unity Party, the People’s Movement, and the Quds Association.
The rally was staged by the Tunisian coalition for fighting Zionism and criminalizing normalization.
The demonstrators carried banners calling on the Tunisian parliament to criminalize the normalization of relations with Israel.
The Tunisian coalition to fight Zionism and criminalize normalization comprises a consortium of nationalist parties and associations, including the Tunisian League for Tolerance, the Unity Party, the People’s Movement, and the Quds Association.
9 apr 2015
Palestinians on Thursday marked the 67th anniversary of the massacre of more than 100 Palestinian civilians by Zionist forces at the village of Deir Yassin.
"The Deir Yassin massacre was a turning point in the history of the people of Palestine, and it continues to serve as a necessary reminder of Israel’s ongoing policies of displacement, dispossession and dehumanization, and its willful erasure of the Palestinian narrative and human presence in historical Palestine," senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement.
Ashrawi noted that the massacre was one of the first in what would become a long line of Israeli military attacks on Palestinian civilians, noting: "Deir Yassin, Nasir al-Din, Haifa, Yazur, Bayt Daras, al-Tantura, al-Lydd, al-Dawayima, Saliha, Qibya, Kafr Qasim, and Shuja'iyya, among other names, will remain forever engraved in our hearts and minds and always serve as symbols of Palestinian steadfastness and perseverance."
"Peace and justice for Palestine is long overdue, and it is time for the international community to join us as we strive for freedom, dignity and self-determination," she said.
Deir Yassin has long been a symbol of Israeli violence for Palestinians because of the particularly gruesome nature of the slaughter, which targeted men, women, children, and the elderly in the small village west of Jerusalem. The number of victims is generally believed to be around 107, though figures given at the time reached up to 254.
"The Deir Yassin massacre was a turning point in the history of the people of Palestine, and it continues to serve as a necessary reminder of Israel’s ongoing policies of displacement, dispossession and dehumanization, and its willful erasure of the Palestinian narrative and human presence in historical Palestine," senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement.
Ashrawi noted that the massacre was one of the first in what would become a long line of Israeli military attacks on Palestinian civilians, noting: "Deir Yassin, Nasir al-Din, Haifa, Yazur, Bayt Daras, al-Tantura, al-Lydd, al-Dawayima, Saliha, Qibya, Kafr Qasim, and Shuja'iyya, among other names, will remain forever engraved in our hearts and minds and always serve as symbols of Palestinian steadfastness and perseverance."
"Peace and justice for Palestine is long overdue, and it is time for the international community to join us as we strive for freedom, dignity and self-determination," she said.
Deir Yassin has long been a symbol of Israeli violence for Palestinians because of the particularly gruesome nature of the slaughter, which targeted men, women, children, and the elderly in the small village west of Jerusalem. The number of victims is generally believed to be around 107, though figures given at the time reached up to 254.
The attack was part of a broader strategy called Plan Dalet by Zionist groups to scare Palestinians into flight ahead of the expected partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. It was led by the Irgun group, whose head was future prime minister Menachem Begin, with support from the Haganah and Lehi.
In order to ensure only Jews were left in the "Jewish state" -- nearly half of whose inhabitants were Palestinians -- massacres were committed by these Zionist groups in a number of villages in the hope that the ensuing terror would lead to an Arab exodus.
Thus the attack on Deir Yassin took place a month before Partition took place, and was part of the reasons later given by neighboring Arab states for their intervention in Palestine.
The combination of forced expulsion and flight that the massacres -- most prominent among them Deir Yassin -- precipitated left around 750,000 Palestinians as refugees abroad. Today their descendants number more than five million, and their right to return to Palestine is a central political demand.
The Palestine Liberation Organization said in a statement released Thursday that the episode "characterizes the atrocities of the Nakba (catastrophe), and highlights the impunity that Israel still enjoys today."
"As with almost every single crime committed by Israel before and since its inception, the criminals responsible for this horrific and bloody massacre enjoyed full impunity."
"A few weeks after this tragic event, the man politically responsible for the Haganah (future Israeli Army), David Ben Gurion, became Israel’s first Prime Minister," the organization said in a statement.
"Even more astonishing is the fact that the head of the 'operation' at Deir Yassin, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir, the leader of the Lehi who participated in the massacre, would also go on to become Israeli Prime Ministers."
In order to ensure only Jews were left in the "Jewish state" -- nearly half of whose inhabitants were Palestinians -- massacres were committed by these Zionist groups in a number of villages in the hope that the ensuing terror would lead to an Arab exodus.
Thus the attack on Deir Yassin took place a month before Partition took place, and was part of the reasons later given by neighboring Arab states for their intervention in Palestine.
The combination of forced expulsion and flight that the massacres -- most prominent among them Deir Yassin -- precipitated left around 750,000 Palestinians as refugees abroad. Today their descendants number more than five million, and their right to return to Palestine is a central political demand.
The Palestine Liberation Organization said in a statement released Thursday that the episode "characterizes the atrocities of the Nakba (catastrophe), and highlights the impunity that Israel still enjoys today."
"As with almost every single crime committed by Israel before and since its inception, the criminals responsible for this horrific and bloody massacre enjoyed full impunity."
"A few weeks after this tragic event, the man politically responsible for the Haganah (future Israeli Army), David Ben Gurion, became Israel’s first Prime Minister," the organization said in a statement.
"Even more astonishing is the fact that the head of the 'operation' at Deir Yassin, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir, the leader of the Lehi who participated in the massacre, would also go on to become Israeli Prime Ministers."
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On April 9, 1948, Zionist militias massacred approximately 100 Palestinian men, women and children in the village of Deir Yassin.
Located on a hilltop just west of Jerusalem, the Deir Yassin massacre was largely seen as a way to scare nearby Palestinian villagers into leaving their homes. |
On April 9, sixty-seven years ago, armed members of Zionist terrorist organizations, the Irgun and the Stern gangs, attacked the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin and brutally murdered more than one hundred innocent men, women and children.
PNN reports that mostly all under the age of nine, fifty-five young children were orphaned and literally dumped in the Old City of Jerusalem to fend for themselves; Hind al-Husseini rescued the children and founded Dar Al-Tifl Al-Arabi (Arab Children's House), an orphanage for the young survivors, two weeks later.
"The Deir Yassin massacre was a turning point in the history of the people of Palestine, and it continues to serve as a necessary reminder of Israel's ongoing policies of displacement, dispossession and dehumanization, and its willful erasure of the Palestinian narrative and human presence in historical Palestine," PLO executive committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement.
Ashrawi gave recent examples of Israel's continued campaign of deliberate massacres which occurred last summer when it waged a brutal and ruthless assault on the Palestinians of Gaza. "On July 20, at least sixty Palestinians were murdered in the Shuja'eyya neighborhood, and between July 7 and August 21, one hundred and forty-two families in Gaza were partially or completely obliterated by Israel."
PNN reports that mostly all under the age of nine, fifty-five young children were orphaned and literally dumped in the Old City of Jerusalem to fend for themselves; Hind al-Husseini rescued the children and founded Dar Al-Tifl Al-Arabi (Arab Children's House), an orphanage for the young survivors, two weeks later.
"The Deir Yassin massacre was a turning point in the history of the people of Palestine, and it continues to serve as a necessary reminder of Israel's ongoing policies of displacement, dispossession and dehumanization, and its willful erasure of the Palestinian narrative and human presence in historical Palestine," PLO executive committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement.
Ashrawi gave recent examples of Israel's continued campaign of deliberate massacres which occurred last summer when it waged a brutal and ruthless assault on the Palestinians of Gaza. "On July 20, at least sixty Palestinians were murdered in the Shuja'eyya neighborhood, and between July 7 and August 21, one hundred and forty-two families in Gaza were partially or completely obliterated by Israel."
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See VIDEO: Gaza City's Devastated Al-Shuja'eyya Suburb
"Since its creation, Israel's systematic policies of destruction and massacres have persisted," Ashrawi added. "Deir Yassin, Nasir al-Din, Haifa, Yazur, Bayt Daras, al-Tantura, al-Lydd, al-Dawayima, Saliha, Qibya, Kafr Qasim, and Shuja'iyya, among other names, will remain forever engraved in our hearts and minds and always serve as symbols of Palestinian steadfastness and perseverance." "Today, we honor all Palestinian victims of Israel's flagrant measures of military occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing. On behalf of Palestinians everywhere, we will remain undeterred in our efforts to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and war crimes. |
Peace and justice for Palestine is long overdue, and it is time for the international community to join us as we strive for freedom, dignity and self-determination," she concluded.
The Massacre of Deir Yassin: Atrocity, Displacement and Impunity
Even before the withdrawal of British forces from Palestine in 1948, Palestinians throughout the country were subjected to widespread terror and horrific acts of violence at the hands of Zionist militias. Massacres and expulsions of Palestinians created an atmosphere of fear and panic that forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. They left behind land and personal possessions that were subsequently stolen by the State of Israel, sometimes out rightly and sometimes through "clever" legislation. One episode that characterizes the atrocities of the Nakba (catastrophe), and highlights the impunity that Israel still enjoys today, is the massacre that took place in the village of Deir Yassin in Jerusalem. Today, we mark the 65th anniversary of this crime.
What happened in Deir Yassin?
On April 9th 1948, Zionist gangs entered the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin in the Jerusalem district, killing 254 Palestinian villagers, mainly women, children and the elderly. There were documented cases of rape, mutilation and humiliation; the victims being mainly Palestinian women. As stated in the subsequent Red Cross report made by ICRC representative Jacques de Reynier, British troops did not intervene to prevent the massacre and Zionist gangs denied access for medical personnel to treat the wounded.
Who committed the massacre?
The Massacre of Deir Yassin: Atrocity, Displacement and Impunity
Even before the withdrawal of British forces from Palestine in 1948, Palestinians throughout the country were subjected to widespread terror and horrific acts of violence at the hands of Zionist militias. Massacres and expulsions of Palestinians created an atmosphere of fear and panic that forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. They left behind land and personal possessions that were subsequently stolen by the State of Israel, sometimes out rightly and sometimes through "clever" legislation. One episode that characterizes the atrocities of the Nakba (catastrophe), and highlights the impunity that Israel still enjoys today, is the massacre that took place in the village of Deir Yassin in Jerusalem. Today, we mark the 65th anniversary of this crime.
What happened in Deir Yassin?
On April 9th 1948, Zionist gangs entered the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin in the Jerusalem district, killing 254 Palestinian villagers, mainly women, children and the elderly. There were documented cases of rape, mutilation and humiliation; the victims being mainly Palestinian women. As stated in the subsequent Red Cross report made by ICRC representative Jacques de Reynier, British troops did not intervene to prevent the massacre and Zionist gangs denied access for medical personnel to treat the wounded.
Who committed the massacre?
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The massacre was led by Menahem Begin in his capacity as head of the Irgun terrorist forces (The Irgun were responsible for several acts of terror, including the blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem). Supporting the Irgun was the Haganah, a group that went on to form the basis for the Israeli Army, and the Lehi, led by Yitzhak Shamir.
Was Deir Yassin an isolated event? No. Deir Yassin was not an isolated event. It was part of the "Dalet Plan", which aimed to force Palestinians from Palestine in order to achieve a Jewish majority in the newly established State of Israel. How did Deir Yassin affect Palestinians? |
News of the Deir Yassin massacre created a wave of panic, forcing many Palestinians to flee their homes so as to avoid a similar fate. The Zionist militias had succeeded in achieving an important and stated goal. As Menahem Begin would note several years later:
"Arabs throughout the country, induced to believe wild tales of 'Irgun butchery' were seized with limitless panic and started to flee for their lives. This mass flight soon developed into a maddened, uncontrolled stampede. Of the almost 800,000 who lived in the present territory of the State of Israel, only some 165,000 are still there. The political and economic significance of this development can hardly be overestimated."
What happened to the survivors of Deir Yassin?
Those who survived the massacre became refugees either in Jordan or in camps around the Jerusalem area, such as Qalandia near Ramallah and Deheisheh in Bethlehem. Many of their descendants are still living in refugee camps today.
A group of orphans were rescued by Ms. Hind Husseini. The orphans were highly traumatized after seeing their families being slaughtered and needed of immediate shelter. This led Ms. Husseini to create the Dar Al Tifl, a Palestinian institution in Jerusalem that still grants shelter and education to Palestinian children. This tragic story inspired the film "Miral" by Rula Jibreel.
What happened to the perpetrators of the massacre?
As with almost every single crime committed by Israel before and since its inception, the criminals responsible for this horrific and bloody massacre enjoyed full impunity. In fact, a few weeks after this tragic event, the man politically responsible for the Haganah (future Israeli Army), David Ben Gurion, became Israel's first Prime Minister. Even more astonishing is the fact that the head of the "operation" at Deir Yassin, Menahem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir, the leader of the Lehi who participated in the massacre, would also go on to become Israeli Prime Ministers.
"Arabs throughout the country, induced to believe wild tales of 'Irgun butchery' were seized with limitless panic and started to flee for their lives. This mass flight soon developed into a maddened, uncontrolled stampede. Of the almost 800,000 who lived in the present territory of the State of Israel, only some 165,000 are still there. The political and economic significance of this development can hardly be overestimated."
What happened to the survivors of Deir Yassin?
Those who survived the massacre became refugees either in Jordan or in camps around the Jerusalem area, such as Qalandia near Ramallah and Deheisheh in Bethlehem. Many of their descendants are still living in refugee camps today.
A group of orphans were rescued by Ms. Hind Husseini. The orphans were highly traumatized after seeing their families being slaughtered and needed of immediate shelter. This led Ms. Husseini to create the Dar Al Tifl, a Palestinian institution in Jerusalem that still grants shelter and education to Palestinian children. This tragic story inspired the film "Miral" by Rula Jibreel.
What happened to the perpetrators of the massacre?
As with almost every single crime committed by Israel before and since its inception, the criminals responsible for this horrific and bloody massacre enjoyed full impunity. In fact, a few weeks after this tragic event, the man politically responsible for the Haganah (future Israeli Army), David Ben Gurion, became Israel's first Prime Minister. Even more astonishing is the fact that the head of the "operation" at Deir Yassin, Menahem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir, the leader of the Lehi who participated in the massacre, would also go on to become Israeli Prime Ministers.