French municipality names Street for Nakba, Ben Gurion called war criminal
PMW note: The signs were removed the following day due to outcry among France Jewry.
Headline: "A city in France names one of its streets Nakba Lane"
"The French city Bezons named one of its streets near the municipality building Nakba Lane as part of the city's activities to mark the 70th anniversary of Palestine's Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel); this was in the presence of Palestine's Ambassador in France Salman El-Herfi and a number of the embassy’s staff members, in addition to [Bezons] Mayor Dominique Lesparre, members of the city council, a number of activists in the organization Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and a gathering of the city's residents.
The following sentence is written in French and Arabic on a sign placed at the entrance to the street: 'Nakba Lane: in memory of the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians and the destruction of 532 villages in 1948 by war criminal [first Israeli Prime Minister] David Ben-Gurion in order to establish the State of Israel.'
Ambassador El-Herfi gave a speech in which he first thanked Mayor [Lesparre], the members of the Bezons Municipality, and its residents who always have expressed their support for the Palestinian right. Ambassador El-Herfi also emphasized this solidarity that increases the Palestinian people’s determination to adhere to their national and legitimate rights of return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem its capital."
The picture shows a Palestinian flag being held by Bozens Mayor Dominique Lesparre and another person who cannot be identified as he is hidden in the picture. In the background is a black banner with a picture of a key and the word "Return" in Arabic and English.
[Le Parisien, June 11, 2018; Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, June 12, 2018]
The pictures show the street sign with the following text in Arabic and French: "Nakba Lane. In memory of the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians and the destruction of 532 villages in 1948 by war criminal [first Israeli Prime Minister] David Ben-Gurion in order to establish the State of Israel"
[Arab48.com, June 12, 2018]
The picture shows a plaque on the ground - there since 2008 and unrelated to the street naming - with the following text in French:
“An olive tree for Palestine
A state for the Palestinians on the 1967 borders
A city for peace and solidarity
Bezons, March 31, 2008
Dominique Lesparre,
Bezons Mayor,
Vice-President of the Val-d’Oise General Council”
Okaz, Saudi Arabian newspaper, June 12, 2018]
The picture shows a black banner with a key and the word "Return" in Arabic and English. The banner was hanging on a tree behind which the naming ceremony took place.
Text below the picture: "The key of return on an olive tree in the French city Bezons"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, front page, June 13, 2018]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, June 12, 2018; Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, June 12, 2018; Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, front page, June 13, 2018]