Palestinians in the West Bank city of Bethlehem are marking the 60th anniversary of Nakba, the day Israel was created on the rubble of Palestine, by building a gigantic iron key memorial. The key symbolizes the right of return for Palestinian refugees worldwide," Munther Ameera, director of the Aida Youth Activity Center in Bethlehem, told IslamOnline.net. Ameera, who is behind the key memorial idea, says the aim is to demonstrate Palestinians' resolve to return to their homes and pass the torch from one generation to the next. "We want our children to look at this key memorial and think of the day they will return to their motherland."

The memorial will feature a massive 10-meter iron key weighing about two tons.

The project will cost some $12,000 and is financed by a number of Palestinian groups including the Al-Zaituna Network of Journalism and al-Bashir Institute for Development and Creativity.

The key will be placed at the entrance of the Aida Refugee Camp in northern Bethlehem on May 8, the day Israel begins celebrations of its creation.

"We planned it to commemorate this significance date in our history," said Ameera, referring to the Nakba Day.

On April 18, 1948, Palestinian Tiberius was captured by Menachem Begin's Irgun militant group, putting its 5,500 Palestinian residents in flight. On April 22, Haifa fell to the Zionist militants and 70,000 Palestinians fled.

On April 25, Irgun began bombarding civilian sectors of Jaffa, terrifying the 750,000 inhabitants into panicky flight.

On May 14, Jaffa completely surrendered to the much better-equipped Zionist militants and only about 4,500 of its population remained.

A day later Israel was created on the rubble of Palestine.

Guinness Record    

Palestinians hope the key memorial will raise international awareness about their cause and the plight of forgotten refugees.

For that cause, Ameera's center has approached the Guinness Book of Records to list the key as the biggest in the world.

"We hope the key will an entry in the Guinness Book of Records," Ameera said.

"It will help raise awareness of the Palestinian refugees' rights in Western societies."

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, defines as refugees the descendants of Palestinians who have fled or were forced out of their homes in 1948.

The number of registered Palestine refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to more than 4.4 million in 2005, and continues to rise due to natural population growth.

One-third of the registered refugees live in 58 recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

UN resolutions guarantee the right of return of Palestinian refugees, many still holding the keys and titles of their homes in what is now Israel.

The placing of the key memorial at the entrance of the Aida Refugee Camp is also symbolic.

It will be raised against Israel's 700km-long separation barrier, a mix of electronic fences and concrete walls eating up large swathes of the occupied West Bank, which besieges the camp from two sides.

"We hope the spot will be a magnet for supporters of the Palestinian cause. The wall will be the first thing they see. It will tell it all."

 Source: islamonline.net

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