Israel asks countries to boycott Palestinian Nakba event at UN

Israel said Monday that it is communicating with other countries to boycott the commemoration of the Nakba, or Catastrophe, a day marked by the Palestinians on May 15 to refer to the expulsion of thousands from their homes and lands in 1948 after the founding of Israel.

"We will fight the lie of the 'Nakba' with all our might," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement. "We will not allow the Palestinians to continue spreading lies and to distort history."

According to The Times of Israel newspaper, the Israeli Foreign Ministry asked nearly 100 countries not to participate in the event, organized by the Palestinian mission at the United Nations.

Around 32 countries reportedly said they will stay away from the event, including the US, the UK, Canada, Ukraine and India.

For the first time, the UN will officially commemorate the Nakba event on Monday with the participation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Palestine-Israel conflict dates back to 1917 when the British government, in the now-famous Balfour Declaration, called for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the Nakba resulted in the displacement of nearly 800,000 Palestinians out of 1.4 million Palestinians who lived in historical Palestine in 1948 in 1,300 villages and towns.