The Right of Return and the Struggle for Justice

Most Palestinians live in exile from their historic homeland because they, or their family, were forced to leave through Israel’s recurrent waves of ethnic cleansing.

In 1948 over 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their land to make way for the State of Israel, during the Nakba.

Moreover, inside historic Palestine itself, many Palestinians live as refugees or internally displaced people. Over 50% of the residents of besieged Gaza are refugees.

Around one third of Palestinian refugees live in camps, both inside Palestine, and throughout neighbouring Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

All these Palestinians, wherever they live, are prevented by Israel from exercising their legally enshrined right of return to the land, homes, and property from which they were uprooted. While Palestinians are removed from their land, Israel has facilitated Jewish settlement from anywhere in the world ever since.

On December 11th 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 194, affirming this right to return. The resolution passed with the support of the then UK Government. It has been affirmed in international law dozens of times since.

On the 73rd anniversary of the passage of UNGA Resolution 194, join this webinar to hear from Palestinian exiles on their experiences, and learn how the right of return remains an essential part of the Palestinian struggle for justice.

Speakers:

Lubnah Shomali, Advocacy Unit Manager of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency a Refugee Rights, a Palestinian organisation committed to protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees.

Nidal Betare, Syrian-Palestinian writer based in Washington DC, USA.

Basma El Doukhi, Palestinian Development and humanitarian scholar and PhD candidate at the University of Kent, third generation of stateless Palestinian refugee from Rashidieh Palestinian camp in Lebanon.

Sawsan Samara, Palestinian in Jordan, activist with BDS Jordan