Israel’s occupation: 76 years of Palestinian tragedy

Ramallah, Palestine - The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released a report on Sunday marking the 76th anniversary of the Nakba (Great Catastrophe) indicating that since 1948, approximately 134,000 Palestinians and Arabs have been killed both inside and outside Palestine.

The bureau’s report details the grim statistics of death, detention, settlement construction and land confiscation in Palestine coinciding with the anniversary of May 15, 1948.

Since October 7 alone, the start of the Israel-hamas war, at least 35,034 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with 14,944 being children and 9,849 women.

The bodies of around 7,000 people are yet to be recovered.

In the West Bank, 492 Palestinians have lost their lives due to attacks by Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers since October 7.

According to data from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs, approximately one million people have been detained since 1967.

The number of arrests in the West Bank alone has reached 8,520 since October 7, with some released and others remaining in custody.

As of the end of April, the number of detainees in Israeli prisons had reached 9,400, including 3,600 held without trial.

As of the end of 2022, the number of Israeli military checkpoints and settlements in the West Bank had reached 483, with the settler population reaching 745,467, mainly in Jerusalem. A significant increase in settlement construction was observed in 2023, with Israeli authorities approving plans for more than 18,000 units.

Since 1948, approximately 134,000 Palestinians and Arabs have been killed inside and outside Palestine