Washington DC - Representative Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday reintroduced a resolution in the House recognizing the Nakba amid mounting US-enabled Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Tlaib – only Palestinian-American member of Congress – reintroduced the resolution to coincide with the 77th anniversary of the Nakba on May 15.

Nakba – which means "catastrophe" in Arabic – refers to the violent displacement, dispossession, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians that occurred in 1947-1949 during the creation of the state of Israel.

Its legacy continues today in Israel's mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for May 13, 2025: A dog joke to make you laugh

In response to this urgent human rights crisis, Tlaib's resolution – H.Res 409 – calls on the US government to do the following:

• Commemorate the Nakba through official

  recognition and remembrance

• Encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Nakba

• Reject efforts to deny the Nakba or the existence of Palestinians as a people
• Reinstate support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees
  

• Support the implementation of Palestinian refugees' rights in accordance with international law

• Denounce and end complicity in the ongoing Nakba by prohibiting US weapons from being used to destroy Palestinian homes and forcibly remove Palestinians from their land, as well as stopping US diplomatic support for such actions
  

"The Nakba never ended. Today we are witnessing the Israeli apartheid regime carry out genocide in Gaza. It is a campaign to erase Palestinians from existence," Tlaib said in a statement.

Over the last 17 months, Israel has killed at least 52,928 people in Gaza, according to official figures, though the true death toll is believed to be far higher. Meanwhile, Israel has enforced a deadly blockade on humanitarian aid to the starving Palestinian population.

Throughout this time, the US government has enabled Israel's prolonged assault on Gaza through the provision of diplomatic cover and billions of dollars' worth of weapons and military equipment – despite dire warnings that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.

"War Criminal [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has threatened to ethnically cleanse the entire Palestinian population in Gaza, annex the land, and permanently occupy it," Tlaib said on Wednesday.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for May 12, 2025: A joke to make you smile

"As we mark the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, we honor all of those killed since the ethnic cleansing of Palestine began, and the Palestinians who were forced from their homes and violently displaced from their land."

"This immense trauma, including the loss of their loved ones and connections to the communities they grew up in, needs to be repaired. True peace must be built on justice."

Tlaib's resolution has gained support from eight of her House colleagues so far and endorsements from dozens of organizations, including the Adalah Justice Project, Defense for Children International – Palestine, American Council for Judaism, Jewish Voice For Peace Action, CODEPINK, and more.