DOHA, PALESTINOW.COM – The Qatari Forum for Authors devoted a remote session to commemorate the Anniversary of the Palestinian Calamity, on May 15, with a discussion of the book “Al-Quds Madinaty” (My City .. Jerusalem) written by the Palestinian writer and historian Suhad Qalibu.
At the beginning of the session, the writer Maryam Yassin Al Hammadi, Director General of the Qatari Forum, told the authors that in this book she addresses herself with words full of nostalgia and longing for that city. The words carry her around with childhood memories there as she recalls her father’s talk about the set of events that ended with the occupation of Palestine.
For her part, Palestinian historian Suhad Qalibo said that: this book is dear to her and it is her first book that she wrote in 164 pages. it is the talk of memories with the father, because it carries memories with the father, mother and grandmother, and the focus of the family conversation was Palestine and how Palestine was lost, and how friends of different faiths, Muslims and Christians, and even Jews, used to coexist in the same city, Jerusalem.
The memories also included talking about Palestinian cities and their beauty, such as the city of Jaffa and its beaches and theaters, and about all Palestinian cities, which were centers for cultural inspiration, and how many Palestinian families were prevented after 1967 from entering their homes that had a special cultural status in Jerusalem.
The author examined how the Zionist groups began entering Palestine. They had no relationship with the children of Israel, the sons of Jacob the Messenger of Allah, and how the early Palestinians considered them to be displaced and opened the doors to them not knowing that they were infiltrating to seize the land.
The Palestinian writer emphasized that the book confirms the fact that the Palestinians were not displaced but were forced to leave as a result of the massacres committed by the Jews against the Palestinians, and how Palestinians were driven out of their lands and homes by force. She pointed out that the book introduced memories of Palestinian heroes who played a role in facing the occupation, noting that the book highlights coexistence and love for the other through human stories, but it confirms that the Palestinian people refuse the usurpation of their legitimate rights.
The Palestinian historian further stressed that the Palestinian people since the era of the British occupation that paved the way for the Israeli occupation, did not and will not surrender but defends the justice of their cause everywhere, whether from inside or outside Palestine and that the future is for the Palestinians and that the Jews will disappear, God willing, as a result of the resistance. So many peoples have fought for their freedom.
The author also spoke about the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the alleged Temple, and the origin of the Jews, and the children of Israel.
On awareness among the Arab youth, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue, she said that the Arab people will not give up their cause. Holding Palestine as a primary issue in the Arab and Islamic world is an absolute priority for all. She pointed out to the State of Qatar’s concern in the Palestinian issue at the official and popular levels through continuous support to the Palestinians, demanding more cultural work to raise awareness of the Palestinian cause.
It is worth noting that the Anniversary of the “Nakba” (Calamity) falls on May 15, which is the day following the declaration of the state of occupation on the land of Palestine, so Palestinians remember the human tragedy and displacement that befell them on that day.
