Palestinian official demands apology from Israel over 1948 'catastrophe'

May 15 (UPI) -- A top Palestinian official marked Nakba Day -- an annual commemoration of the expulsion of residents during Israeli independence nearly 70 years ago -- by demanding an apology from Jewish leaders.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Sunday said an apology from Israel for its past actions would go a long way toward peaceful coexistence.

More than 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes in historical Palestine during the 1948 conflict with Israel to make way for the contested Jewish state. During the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced, killed or injured.

"Our nation marking 69 years of the Nakba, our national catastrophe, is symbolized in our exile and the systematic denial of our rights," Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, said in a statement. "The Nakba means an ongoing journey of pain, loss and injustice."

Nakba, in Arabic, means "catastrophe."

"In order to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, it is important that Israel recognizes the Nakba and apologizes for it," Erekat added. "We call upon the Israeli government to open all its 1948 archives and show their own nation the truth of what was done to our people, including its ethnic cleansing policies and the policy of shooting to kill Palestinians that attempted to return home."

Palestinian leaders have long said a "right of return" for their people in the region is a must for any peace accord with Tel Aviv.

Erekat similarly asked for an apology for Britain's 1917 Balfour declaration, which called for a Jewish state in Palestine, which was controlled by the London government at the time.

"It's also the responsibility of the international community to achieve the Palestinian right to self-determination and to solve all final status issues, including a just resolution of the refugee issue, based on international law and relevant UN resolutions," he said.

The Palestinian Return Center last month started an online petition calling for the British apology.

After they were expelled, the Palestinian residents were funneled into various camps -- some of which still exist in territories of the West Bank, Jordan, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

Several people were injured Monday in Nakba Day demonstrations in the West Bank, which saw protesters hurl rocks at Israeli security forces. The troops responded with rubber bullets and riot spray.

Thousands marched in the streets to oppose the treatment of Palestinians during the statehood conflict.