having secured the support of the British government for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, on May 14, 1948, as soon as the British Mandate expired, Zionist forces declared the establishment of the State of Israel, triggering the first Arab-Israeli war.

The Nakba, Arabic for Catastrophe, refers to the traumatic event that saw the destruction of 531 Arab villages, the deaths of 15 000 Palestinians, and the forced expulsion of 750 000 more Palestinians, to make way for the Israeli state.

The 🗝 not only became a symbol and reminder of the physical and emotional loss, but one of resistance, and hope of the eventual right to return to their homeland.