A new video by the channel By the Numbers presents the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) through stark figures on land dispossession over more than seven decades. The video uses visual graphics to illustrate the gradual shrinking of territory under Palestinian control, from before 1948 to the present day.
According to the analysis, in 1947 Palestinians owned about 94% of the land in historical Palestine. However, after the 1948 war and the establishment of the state of Israel, the land held by Palestinians dropped to roughly 22%. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights, shrinking Palestinian land further into small, disconnected enclaves.
The video notably highlights the accelerating expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since the 1990s, along with the construction of a separation barrier that has carved up many Palestinian agricultural areas. Data show that as of 2023, Palestinians control only about 17% of the historical land, with Israel controlling the remaining 83%.
The video concludes that the Nakba is not a single event in the past but an ongoing process stretching to the present day, measured inch by inch of seized land. The author urges viewers to see the conflict through the lens of historical data to better understand the structural injustice suffered by Palestinians.
