The Qatari Forum for Authors devoted a remote session to the commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, which is on May 15th, during which the book, Al-Quds, My City, was discussed by the Palestinian writer and historian Suhad Qalibo.
The writer Maryam Yassin Al Hammadi, General Manager of the Qatari Forum for Authors, said at the beginning of the session that the writer addresses herself in this book with words that are dominated by longing and nostalgia for that city, where the words circulate with memories of childhood there, recalling her father’s talk about the development of events that ended with the occupation of Palestine.
For her part, Palestinian historian Suhad Qalibo said: This book is a part of her and it is the first book she wrote and is located in 164 pages. It is a conversation of memories with the father, because it carries memories with her father, mother and grandmother, and the focus of the conversation between the family was Palestine and how Palestine was lost, and how friends of different religions, Muslims, Christians and even Jews coexisted in one city, Jerusalem.
The memories also dealt with 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 of cultural creation, and how many Palestinian families were prevented after 1967 from entering their homes in Jerusalem, which had a special cultural status.
The author discussed how the entry of Zionist groups to Palestine, who had no relationship with the children of Israel, sons of the Prophet, Jacob, and how the first Palestinians considered them to be displaced and opened the doors before them and did not know that they were infiltrating to control the land.
The Palestinian writer emphasized that the book emphasizes the fact that the Palestinians were displaced as a result of the massacres committed by the Jews against the Palestinians, and how they were expelled from their lands and homes by force, pointing out that it was exposed to memories about Palestinian heroes who had a role in facing the occupation, noting that the book highlights through human stories coexistence and love for others, but confirms that the Palestinian people reject the usurpation of their legitimate rights.
The Palestinian writer confirmed that the Palestinian people, since the era of the British occupation, which paved the way for the Israeli occupation after that, and they did not and will not surrender, but rather defend the justice of their case 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, many people fought for their freedom.
The author 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.
Regarding Arab awareness among young people, especially the Palestinian issue, she said that the Arab people will not give up their case, as belonging to Palestine as the first issue in the Arab and Islamic world is an absolute priority for everyone, pointing to the interest of the State of Qatar in the Palestinian issue at the official and popular level through continuous support for the Palestinians, with more cultural work to raise awareness of the Palestinian matter.
It is worth noting that the Nakba Day falls on May 15, which is the day after the declaration of the occupation state on the land of Palestine, where the Palestinians remember the human tragedy and displacement that befell them.