First UN commemoration of the 1948 exodus of Palestinians from Palestine

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is headlining Monday's U.N. commemoration of the "Nakba" or "catastrophe". Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, called the observance "historic" and significant because the General Assembly played a key role in the partition of Palestine. Israel's U.N.

ambassador, Gilad Erdan, condemned the commemoration, calling it an "abominable event". The Nakba commemorates the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in 1948 by the zionist Haganah. The fate of these refugees and their descendants remains a major disputed issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The United States was among the countries that joined Israel in voting against the resolution, and the U.S. Mission said no American diplomat will attend Monday's commemoration.

Mansour explained that the Palestinians have moved cautiously at the United Nations since the General Assembly raised their status in 2012. The Nakba, the word used in a General Assembly resolution to commemorate the 1948 exodus, was used in a speech to the U.N. Security Council on April 25. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said it is time to bring the Nakba to an end, stressing that the Palestinians have suffered from the most protracted refugee crisis in the world and the longest occupation of an entire territory in modern history. He urged countries to ban products from Israeli settlements and trade with settlements, to sanction those who collect funds for settlements and those who advocate for them, and to list settler organizations that carry out killings and burnings as “terrorist organizations.” He also urged the international community to take Israel to the International Court of Justice. The General Assembly asked the court to give its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation.