Paris area mobilizations commemorate 75 years of Nakba and ongoing resistance

For over a week, many organizations held events and actions, bringing together thousands of people in Paris, France, and its suburbs. These events were part of the collective commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, a process of colonization and ethnic cleansing in Palestine still underway today, which the Palestinian people tirelessly resist.

On Saturday, 13 May, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine organized a mass march and demonstration, proceeding from Châtelet to République in Paris. This dynamic and enthusiastic action brought together several thousand people in support of the Palestinian people and their resistance, the majority of whom were young people. This action was supported by many organizations, including Samidoun Paris Banlieue and other pro-Palestinian and internationalist organizations. Throughout the route of the march, the colors of Palestine and its resistance were proudly brandished, highlighting the vitality of the struggle of the Palestinian people and the failure and illegitimacy of Zionist colonization. Several speeches took place at the end of the demonstration. The first was by a young activist from EuroPalestine who recalled the current nature of the Nakba, the absence of international sanctions on the Zionist entity and emphasized the unity of the Palestinian resistance during the “Revenge of the Free,” the latest battle in which the resistance responded from Gaza against the Israeli offensive that killed 33 Palestinians in Gaza.

Alongside other organizations, Samidoun Paris Banlieue delivered a speech:

Today we commemorate 75 years of the Nakba, a process of ethnic cleansing and settler colonization which still continues today, and which the Palestinian people are courageously confronting.

As we speak, the Zionist occupation has launched a new military offensive against the Gaza Strip which has been under blockade for more than 15 years. Faced with this, the Palestinian people responded in a unified and collective manner to the aggression by using their legitimate right to resistance! Only a few days after the death of Khader Adnan, who was martyred while leading a hunger strike to demand his release, the occupying forces bombed Gaza. Supposedly making targeted attacks against resistance leaders but in reality murdering at least 25 people, including 5 children, and nearly 80 injured.

The resistance to this new offensive demonstrates that despite 75 years of Nakba, the Palestinian people will continue to fight until their return and the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. We wish here to pay tribute to the martyrs who have fallen in recent days.

We, Samidoun, know that the Palestinian prisoners are the spearhead of the resistance. These 4,900 men, women and children represent the Palestinian people as a whole.

Like Walid Daqqah, an emblematic prisoner, long a struggler of the PFLP, and a renowned intellectual who wrote several books during his detention. Walid Daqqah spent more than 37 years in colonial prisons. Today he is seriously ill and the victim of a policy of medical negligence. Today, there is an urgent need to develop the campaign for his release!

Finally, we would like to emphasize that here too, in France, a Palestinian resistance fighter, an Arab communist has been imprisoned since 1984: Georges Abdallah. Today, supporting Georges Abdallah is not just supporting a man who is forthright, dignified and faithful to his political commitments despite 39 years in prison. To support Georges Abdallah is to support the Palestinian people and the legitimacy of their resistance!

Finally, we wish to affirm that the occupation is not an invincible force. It survives thanks to the support of Western imperialist powers, including France. Today, we must mobilize everywhere against this cooperation, like our comrades from Samidoun in Germany and Palestine Action in England who are facing scandalous repression. Tomorrow, the demonstration for the Nakba is banned in Berlin and this is an outrage!

Faced with this, we have no other alternative than to pursue, develop and intensify our solidarity!

The Vietnamese people defeated US imperialism, the Algerian people defeated French colonialism and tomorrow Palestine will defeat imperialism and Zionism!

On Sunday, May 14, we gathered in Montreuil at the Marbrerie for an event organized by the AFPS under the slogan “Justice for Palestine.” Supported by several organizations such as the LDH, the CGT, Solidaires, the UJFP, the JCCEDETIM, the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine and Orient XXI, this event brought together several hundred people and gave the floor to several Palestinian activists and personalities. In the first part of the evening, we listened to the testimonies and speeches of Dana Farraj (lawyer and researcher at Birzeit University), Salah Hamouri (French-Palestinian lawyer and former political prisoner expelled from Jerusalem in December 2022), Qassam Muaddi (journalist, photo reporter and writer) and Rania Muhareb (doctoral student at the University of Galway, originally from Jerusalem).

The evening ended on a high note with concerts by Samah Mustafa, a Palestinian singer who combines classical music and electronic music, and Tamer Nafar, co-founder of the group DAM. The same organizations gathered the next day in Place de la République for a commemoration.

On Friday, 19 May, at La Caboteuse in Montreuil, AIM and Young Struggle organized a solidarity event with the Kurdish people. This evening was part of the “Punks for Rojava” campaign, which aims to show the solidarity of the alternative scene with the ongoing struggles in Kurdistan. Alongside several other organizations such as Action Antifasciste 77, Samidoun Paris Banlieue was present in particular to highlight the campaigns for the release of Georges Abdallah and Walid Daqqah.

As always, the evening was a resounding success. We warmly thank AIM and Young Struggle for their welcome and their invitation.

On Saturday, 20 May, Samidoun Paris Banlieue held its monthly stand at the open-air market in Aubervilliers. This stand mainly centered around two fundamental themes: the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba and solidarity with the prisoners of the Palestinian resistance including Walid Daqqah and Georges Abdallah.

For more than two hours, we distributed leaflets explaining the situation of Europe’s longest-held political prisoner, the Lebanese communist and Palestinian resistance fighter Georges Abdallah. Once again, we confirmed that his name is well known and meaningful for the diasporas of the Maghreb, the Arab region as a whole, and sincere internationalist activists. This popular support shows us that we must do everything possible to secure his release after 39 years of judicial harassment.

We also drew attention to the situation of Walid Daqqah, emblematic prisoner of the PFLP and internationally recognized writer who has been detained for more than 37 years in the Zionist colonial prisons. Seriously ill, he suffers from bone marrow cancer and pneumonia triggered by the policy of deliberate medical negligence of the Zionist authorities. At the time of writing, he was suddenly returned to the infamous Ramleh prison clinic after initially being transferred to Assaf Harofeh Civil Hospital following a deterioration in his state of health. He suffers from complications related to the removal of a part of his right lung, after which he developed an infection and continues to suffer from an inability to breathe. Despite his catastrophic state of health, Walid Daqqah has been repeatedly taken out of civilian hospitals and returned to Ramleh prison clinic.

Walid Daqqah needs serious and proper treatment for his lungs, kidneys and blood, as well as a bone marrow transplant. This requires a clean therapeutic environment, where exposure to infection is minimal. This is not the case in colonial prisons. We invite all organizations and supporters of the Palestinian people to join this international campaign launched from Palestine by his family and loved ones to demand his immediate release!

Finally, we discussed the 75 years of colonization, ethnic cleansing and oppression that the Palestinian people are constantly resisting with local residents attending the market. They expressed to us their unfailing, sincere and unconditional support for the Palestinian people and their resistance, and all morning took turns to discuss with us, take advantage of the stickers and flyers available and participate in our fundraising donations for the Al Awda hospital in Gaza.

This stand was organized a few days after a new poster campaign in the streets of Aubervilliers in order to continue the mobilization and awareness campaigns for Palestinian prisoners.

We would like to warmly thank the organizations that organize these solidarity actions for the Palestinian people and their resistance, especially AIM, Young Struggle , Antifascist Action 77 and EuroPalestine. A big thank you to the inhabitants of Aubervilliers for their support, to the demonstrators who marched and responded to EuroPalestine’s call and to all the people we met throughout this eventful week.

Do not forget to follow us on our social networks to participate in our activities and find all of our actions and mobilizations (Instagram , Facebook , Twitter) or contact us by email at parisbanlieue@samidoun.net

Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people!
Glory to the resistance, to its martyrs and its prisoners!
From the river to the sea: Palestine will win!