1948 al-Nakbah
Translated as ‘catastrophe’, this date refers to the creation of the Jewish state of Israel in Palestinian country and the violent mass displacement of Palestinians. Palestinian literature in the period after the Nakbah sought to articulate the fears of Palestinians in the face of the onslaught as well as their diminishing hopes for a national salvation within an independent Palestine. It also aimed at describing experiences of many Palestinian refugees who were forced to settle in neighboring countries such as Lebanon and Syria.