DEPUTY prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has proposed the construction of a museum to memorialise the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians just prior to the formation of Israel in 1948.

At the closing of the third annual conference of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds in Petaling Jaya, she said there is a need to ensure the event known as ‘the catastrophe’ or al-Nakba in Arabic, is known to the younger generation.

“As we move ahead with this effort to bring justice to Palestine, it is important that we ensure that the younger generation does not forget the calamities that have befallen the Palestinians,” she said during her closing address.

“Many no longer remember the Deir Yassin massacre, the Qibya massacre, the King David Hotel bombing, and the Sabra and Shatilla massacres.

“Israel is the only country in the world where terrorists who were responsible for massacres later on become prime ministers.

“Perhaps it is time that we memorialise what happened to the Palestinians by establishing a museum of al-Nakba.

“A cause can lose its momentum when the younger generation has no understanding of why and how it started.

“Besides educating the public about Palestine, it should also educate us about the tragedies during the Bosnian War, the Rwanda genocide, the Sook Ching massacres, the Rabaa massacre and other tragedies from the recent past.”

Wan Azizah did not mention where the proposed museum would be constructed.

The conference, first held in Instabul in 2015, comprised 400 lawmakers from 40 countries in support of Palestinian human rights and an independent Palestinian state. Al-Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem.

Present was parliamentary Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, league chairman Sheikh Hamid Alahmar, Domestic Trade Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and organising committee chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh.

“Injustice, violence and oppression have no place in modern civilisation. The present and future generations must be committed to make the world a better place.

“The museum of al-Nakba can make us understand the dark side of human behaviour and the importance of not allowing such injustices repeat itself in the future.

“We are together here because of our belief in justice. When we leave this conference, we must continue to fight for justice so that oppression everywhere on this earth will be extinguished,” she said. – February 9, 2020.