The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) recently hosted a virtual panel discussion titled “Britain and Palestine: 107 Years of the Ramifications of Balfour,” bringing together distinguished voices to explore the lasting impacts of the Balfour Declaration on Palestinian rights, British colonialism, and ongoing global ramifications. Moderated by activist Farrah Kouteineh, the event featured renowned speakers including Irish socialist and human rights advocate Tommy McKearney, political expert Saeb Shaath, investigative journalist David Cronin, and human rights advocate Maryam Al Dossari.

The speakers provided insightful analysis and engaged in critical reflection on the declaration’s legacy, detailing how it set a foundation for systemic oppression that still affects Palestinians today. The discussion was enriched by a thorough examination of historical resistance movements, the British colonial strategy, and international policies toward Palestine.

The panel opened with David Cronin, an acclaimed Irish journalist and editor with The Electronic Intifada, who is also the author of Balfour’s Shadow: A Century of British Support for Zionism and Israel. Cronin examined the Balfour Declaration as a deliberate political move that disregarded Palestinian self-determination, paving the way for the systematic disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people. He traced how British support evolved into full-scale assistance, pointing out that Britain’s strategic decisions during its mandate in Palestine created conditions for the mass displacement of Palestinians. Cronin also highlighted recent media silence on Britain’s ongoing role, including surveillance operations over Gaza, revealing the extent of complicity and reinforcing the urgent need for accountability.

Following Cronin, Saeb Shaath, a Middle Eastern political expert, former Palestinian diplomat, and co-founder of Irish Medical Aid for Palestine, presented a detailed historical account of settler colonialism, positioning Zionism within a broader context of imperialism that had its roots in British colonial strategies tested first in Ireland. Shaath explained that the British mandate built political structures to support Zionist settlement, a form of colonialism intended to dispossess and replace indigenous Palestinians. Shaath called for legal accountability for British and Western leaders involved in sustaining policies that continue to oppress Palestinians.

Tommy McKearney, an Irish socialist, former IRA member, and lifelong human rights activist, shared his insights on parallels between British colonial practices in Ireland and Palestine. Drawing from his personal experiences, McKearney discussed how the British Empire historically used settler-colonial tactics to create divisions, an approach also applied in Palestine to establish control over strategic regions. McKearney emphasized that Britain’s and the U.S.’s continued support for Israel, as a colonial outpost in the Middle East, mirrors the imperial intentions seen in Northern Ireland, asserting that the “divide and rule” strategy is designed to keep colonizers and native populations at odds to benefit imperial interests. He predicted that without imperial support, Israel could eventually face a fate similar to that of the British presence in Northern Ireland.

The final speaker, Maryam Al Dossari, a human rights advocate, highlighted the direct human impact of British and Zionist policies on Palestinian communities. Al Dossari focused on the ongoing humanitarian crises in Gaza and the West Bank, pointing to the daily challenges Palestinians face under occupation, including home demolitions, restricted access to essential resources, and an overall erosion of rights. She urged the international community to recognize and address the humanitarian toll of these policies, describing the suffering of Palestinian families as a tragic consequence of colonial ambitions that began with the Balfour Declaration.

During the Q&A, the panelists addressed Britain’s current involvement in the crisis, notably its provision of military and surveillance support to Israel. They also discussed Ireland’s solidarity with Palestine, while critiquing the Irish government for its limited action in enforcing policies that would effectively counter the Israeli occupation. Cronin and Shaath highlighted recent discoveries of Irish airspace being used to transport munitions to Israel, revealing the depth of Western complicity in what the panelists described as “a modern-day genocide.”

The PRC emphasized the need for awareness, advocacy, and legal accountability. The organization encourages the public to engage with their efforts by following PRC on social media and supporting upcoming events aimed at amplifying Palestinian voices and advocating for justice.

Watch the discussion

https://youtube.com/live/nss9QBoPCSc

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London hosted a webinar entitled “Britian&Palestine: 106 Years of the Ramifications of Balfour”.
The panel discussion was chaired by Mick Napier, from Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
The first speaker was Alice Panepinto, a reader at the School of Law. She joined QUB as a Lecturer in law in 2017 and became a Senior Lecturer in 2021. Prior to joining QUB Alice worked at Warwick University and outside academia on human rights and international law issues in the Middle East. She holds a PhD in law and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from Durham University, an LLM from SOAS, and a law degree from Turin University. Alice researches international law, human rights and transitional justice, with a regional interest in the Middle East.
Alice pointed out to the ways the Balfour Declaration turned British imperialism in Palestine into a Zionist project endorsed by the international community.
She said British colonialism is the basis for Palestinian dispossession. “Without British colonialism and without British power, the situation in the world would not be as it is”.
Alice stressed that Balfour began as a British project and lives on as a dogma of the international community. Describing the mindset of the Declaration, she said it is “arrogant, dismissive and even racist”.
She added that the British-brokered dispossession aimed to substitute the Palestinian natives with the Zionist. Palestinian Arabs were not given access to any significant positions of authority in the British mandatory government; Neither were they given the right to create their own powerful, autonomous state.
The second speaker was Bana Abu Zuluf, a PhD Researcher in International Law at NUIM, Ireland. Bana is a researcher and community activist with the Good Shepherd Collective. She played a crucial role in developing the Campaign to Defund Racism – designed to organize over 200 Palestinian organizations, villages and individuals from across historic Palestine – to stop the flow of charitable money to Israeli settler organizations.
Her presentation tackled the implications of the Zionist colonization of Palestine from 1948 till the present day.
She said the Balfour Declaration of 1917 not only triggered the Zionist colonization but also the Nakba, in reference to the disaster that befell the Palestinian people in 1948, when around 750,000 Palestinians were expelled out of their land, forcing them to leave behind hundreds of destroyed towns and villages.
Bana took the audience back to the late 1930s, when British military trained Zionists in Palestine (approximately 5,500) in guerilla and counter insurgency warfare.
“Today, the British government provides Israel with hundreds of millions of pounds in arms, ranging from aircrafts, helicopters, drones, bombs, missiles, military technology, armoured vehicles, tanks, ammunition, and small arm”, said Bana.
In her view, ignoring the underlying causes of Palestinian dispossession and oppression effectively denies them the agency to alleviate it: “By refusing to recognize Palestinian right to self-determination and providing only passive assistance through humanitarian aid, the British government cements the status of Palestinians as a subordinate group who receive conditional support upon their acceptance of the ‘two-state’ solution and the larger status quo of the Israeli dominance and ethnic cleansing.”
“This forced attachment of humanitarian aid in statements by British politicians about the slaughter in Gaza shows clearly the erroneous logic by which humanitarian support becomes inhumane and by which the British government holds on for dear life their British colonial legacy in Palestine”, she further stated.
On board was also Sharri Plonski, a senior lecturer in international politics at Queen Mary University of London. She is a product of multiple transgenerational colonialities that link the practices of conquest, empire, settlement and migration in Eastern Europe, Palestine, Canada and the UK. Her work, which is concerned with settler colonial relations, anti-colonial struggles, border dynamics and material infrastructures, is primarily anchored in the case of Palestine/Israel and its regional and global relations. She is currently working on a project that investigates the colonial and capitalist entanglements of Israel’s trade and transit infrastructures (as PI on an ESRC New Investigator Grant) and the materials that undergird Israel’s ‘normalisation’ project.
Sharri expressed her dismay at what is going on in the besieged Gaza Strip, saying: “Every morning I’m scrolling through images of rubble”.
She also voiced her deep shock at the UK government’s response to Israel’s expansionist project and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Sharri tackled the normalization ties between Israel and the Gulf states in the area of culture, politics, tourism, and economy and how those deals helped nurture Israel’s ethnic cleansing and colonialist project.
The final speaker was Rami G. Khouri, director of global engagement at the American University of Beirut, a nonresident senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Middle East Initiative, and an internationally syndicated columnist.
Rami highlighted how the principles outlining the Zionist movement have been active for the last century, pointing out to Israel’s destructive politics, material criminality, and the continuous use of violence and military power in an attempt to drive Palestinians out of their land.
In Rami’s words, the process of creating a Jewish state on Palestinian land could only happen with the collusion and direct involvement of the British colonial power, a project which is now being expanded by the United States.
The panel discussion emphasised that Britain’s role was essential to the establishment of the State of Israel, and by extension, Britain bears responsibility for the terror that ensued during the Nakba, as well as the structure of Apartheid that Israel still operates on until this day. Britain’s current friendliness with the State of Israel is a continuation of Balfour and its historic nurturing of the Zionist movement.
Britain’s support of the Zionist movement set the ground works for the Nakba, and its continued support of the State of Israel enables its policy of Apartheid. However, the Zionist movement was met with resistance and continues to be met with resistance by the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Return Centre organised and hosted a panel discussion entitled ‘105 Years of Balfour: Britain in Palestine & Ireland’ to mark 105th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on the Friday 4th November at the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich in Belfast, Ireland.

The panel discussion was chaired by James McCarthy, a journalist with the Andersontown News, who introduced the first speaker, Farrah Koutteineh. Ms Koutteineh spoke on behalf of the Palestinian Return Centre, engaging the audience with the role the British mandate undertook during their mandate era between 1918-1948, from assisting zionist militant groups with forced expulsions of Palestinian cities and towns, to the British actively attempting to crush Palestinian dissent to the mandate and partition. Ms Koutteineh mentioned how the Balfour Declaration marked the beginning of 105 years of British collusion in the colonisation of Palestine, and how Britain was complicit in its ethnic cleansing from its brutal mandate era to the Balfour declaration itself. She wrapped up her speech emphasising the urgency of the Palestinian right of return, as Palestinian refugees continue to languish in refugee camps unfit for human habitation.

The panel discussion then heard from Pat Torley, currently the Vice Chairman of the Belfast branch of the Communist Party of Ireland, after spending several years organising in Trade Unions, he has sat on the Irish regional committee and chaired the Belfast Workers District Committee for NI Water.

Mr Torley opened his speech with talking on the parallels between British forge inflicted on both Ireland & Palestine. From the actions of the British ‘Black and Tans’ to the partition of both countries. He then mentioned the ‘Criminal Law and Procedure (Ireland) Act’ 1887, which was passed by Balfour to have more power in Ireland and to be able to crush any dissent or resistant to British rule of the island. Mr Torley closed on highlighting how Balfour because the ‘Chief Secretary for Ireland’ where he is known to have orchestrated the Mitchelstown Massacre against Irish civilians, giving him the name ‘Bloody Balfour’.

The conference then heard from Latifa Abouchakra, a Palestinian refugee who came to the UK during her primary school years. She resides in London, where she has completed her Law degree at Kingston University and went on to complete her PGCE at UCL. She is now a secondary Citizenship and PSHE teacher, investigative Reporter and a Trade Unionist. She has used her platform in the Nation Education Union to stand up against racist policies in the UK; most notably within education against the hijab ban attempted via Ofsted and Prevent.

Ms Abouchakra began her speech with mentioning how the Balfour Declaration symbolised to Palestinians the beginning of the destruction of their homeland. She condemned the British governments repeated celebrations of the Balfour Declarations at the taxpayers expense, and demanded the British government formally apologise for the declaration. Ms Abouchakra then spoke on the stances of all three British prime ministers who have taken power this year, and how their unwavering support of Israel and self identification as zionists is morally reprehensible.

The final speaker of the evening was Tommy McKearney, a former Irish political prisoner, hunger striker spending 53 days on hunger strike, and today is an active trade unionist, author and activist.

Mr McKearney opened up the final speech of the evening delving into the history of Palestine before Balfour, the actions of Sykes Picot and their role in the Middle East and how the impacts of British imperialism where felt all around the world from Ireland to Palestine. He spoke on the British colonial and imperialist strategy that fuelled Britain’s violence in Ireland and Palestine in the early 20th century, as Britain wanted its influence spread far and wide. He then delved into the connections of oppression between Britain and America when it comes to the oppression of Palestinians.

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London released a press statement on the 105th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, issued on November 2, 1917, and which turned the Zionist aim of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine into a reality when Britain publicly pledged to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” there.

More than a century on, millions of Palestinian refugees continue to grapple with the devastating upshots of the Balfour Declaration, which led to a significant upheaval in the lives of Palestinians.

The pledge came in the form of a letter from Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.

Though the Balfour Declaration included the admonition that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”, the British mandate was set up in a way to equip Jews with the tools to establish self-rule, at the expense of the Palestinian Arabs.

The efforts made by PRC in this regard have been on the go over recent years to urge Britain to apologize to the Palestinians for the tragedy that has befallen them as a result of the Balfour Declaration.

The Balfour Apology Campaign (BAC), kick-started by PRC nine years ago, falls within the above context as it matches ongoing endeavors to hold Britain historically, morally, and politically accountable for the dispossession and displacement of 750,000 civilians from their own and only homeland—Palestine—to give way for the establishment of the self-proclaimed state of Israel.

As a result, nearly 7 million Palestine refugees have become scattered all over the world, torn from the nourishment of home and the warmth of family.

The tragic consequences of the pledge continue to plague the lives of the Palestinians till the moment of writing. So far this year, 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Hundreds more have been subjected to arbitrary arrests, racist practices, forced displacement, and house demolitions.

Desperation is mounting, especially among young Palestinian refugees and asylum seekers across the Middle East and in other parts of the world. They are confronted with poverty, unemployment, and a general lack of prospect. Some are risking their lives in search of a more dignified life.

In Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, over 80 percent live below the poverty line.

The British government should officially apologize to the Palestinians over this shameful declaration which led to an unprecedented infringement of the rights of of Palestinians.

At the same time, the UK government should not adopt the position of former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who planned to move the UK embassy to Jerusalem.

Britain bears a moral and historical responsibility over the displacement and dispossession of millions of Palestinians and should therefore make every possible effort to remedy the wounds inflicted upon the Palestinians as a result of the pledge.

The international community should also speak up for the rights of the Palestinians to establish an independent Palestinian State on the 1967 borders and the rights of millions of refugees to return to their homeland. The Israeli occupation should be brought to an end and Israel should be held accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) hosted a webinar marking 104 years since the Balfour Declaration, a pledge made on the 2nd of November 1917. This pledge was a betrayal of the Palestinians, and would ultimately culminate in al-Nakba- the Catastrophe.

The webinar, titled “Britain & Palestine: 104 Years since the Ramifications of Balfour”, featured three speakers: Leanne Mohammed, Lowkey, and Dr Ghada Karmi. The webinar was moderated by Dania Silawi who stated that the discussion would centre on the Declaration’s persisting legacy of human rights violations against the Palestinians.

The first speaker, Leanne Mohammed, was introduced as a British-Palestinian, final year student at King’s College London. Mohammed has an impressive portfolio of public speaking performances such as winning the UK Regional Redbridge Speakout Challenge in 2016, speaking at the university conferences and delivering a speech in parliament.

Mohammed’s segment began with a visceral disavowal of the Declaration, she called it “a day that weighs heavily on every Palestinians heart and the reason why we are resisting today”. She stated that the Declaration was a colonial one which “paved the way for the creation of the settler colonial state of Israel.” She raised two questions, first she asked “what right did Britain have to give away my homeland”. She framed her second question by first pointing out that it was clear from the declaration that Palestine existed, so why then is its existence questioned.

In her summary of the lasting consequence of the Balfour declaration, she highlighted that the Israeli occupation is the longest military occupation in history. She observed that “Balfour was not a declaration but a process.” She drew a parallel between Britain’s collusion with the Zionists in 1948, and the terror inflicted on the Palestinians as a result, with the friendly relationship between the UK and Israel today, and the significant role Western allies play in propping up the State.

The second speaker was the British born, Iraqi activist, historian and renowned rapper, Lowkey. Lowkey’s segment provided an informative panorama of the political events that would lead to the establishment of Israek, he goes on to draw parallels between the relationship between Britain and the Zionist movement back then and their relationship today. He began by outlining three key figures in the Balfour Declaration.

The first was Arthur Balfour himself, Lowkey highlighted the Alien Act, an anti-Semitic act, that made it clear that Balfour did not want Jews escaping pogroms to resettle in the UK. The second figure was Chaim Weissman, who was able to “procure the Balfour Declaration” through his meetings with British politicians. The third figure was Edwin Montague, the only Jewish Member of Parliament, who was dismissed by Balfour as “an assimilationist”. Lowkey discussed how the setting up of separate institutions for the native Palestinians, and the settler community, lead to the apartheid that we see today. Lowkey emphasised that he wants young people to know names like Balfour, alongside with names of the Palestinians who resisted such as Ibrahim Touqan. To further stress the importance of Palestinian resistance, Lowkey pointed out that it is “the longest anti-colonial struggle in the world.”

The final speaker, Dr Ghada Karmi, is a Palestinian doctor, author and academic, who has written extensively on the Palestinian issue in publications such as the Guardian, she is former lecturer and research fellow of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. Her widely acclaimed memoir, “In Search of Fatima”, documents her family’s displacement from Palestine. In the webinar, she touches on this topic and discusses how she is a “direct victim” of the Britain’s collusion with the Zionist movement.

To begin with, Dr Karmi brings to our attention the peculiar nature of the Declaration, she labels it “an odd document”, noting that it takes the form of a letter, so its “status is very unclear”. To underscore the absurdity of this document, Dr Karmi notes that the British were not governing Palestine during this period. She notes that the Declaration itself is of “little import”, however, when coupled with the events that succeeded the declaration- “the nurturing of the Zionist movement”- she illustrates that the role of British was essential to the establishment of Israel: “But for the role of Britain, there would be no Israel today.”

Dr Karmi addresses the question of Britain’s motivations, she suggests that perhaps the British though a State of Israel would be a geopolitical advantage. As well as geopolitical advantages, Dr Karmi discusses the interests of the Christian Zionists. However, Dr Karmi states the motivations of the British are not as important as the consequences of their “nurturing of the Zionist movement.”

All three speakers emphasised that Britain’s role was essential to the establishment of the State of Israel, and by extension, bears responsibility for the terror that ensued during the Nakba, as well as the structure of Apartheid that Israel still operates on until this day. Britain’s current friendliness with the State of Israel is a continuation of Balfour and its historic nurturing of the Zionist movement.

Britain’s support of the Zionist movement set the ground works for the Nakba, and its continued support of the State of Israel enables its policy of Apartheid. However, as highlighted by Lowkey, the Zionist movement was met with resistance and continues to be met with resistance by the Palestinians.

Back in 2017, the UK government acknowledged its responsibility for the plight that has befallen Palestinian refugees as a consequence of the Balfour Declaration, claiming the Declaration “should have called for the protection of the political rights of the non-Jewish communities in Palestine, particularly their right to self-determination”. In practice, the declaration has had many long-lasting consequences on the Palestinians and their inalienable rights.

104 years on, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) continues to call on Britain to apologize to the Palestinians for the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which has led to the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland.

In a statement issued on the occasion of the 104th anniversary of the pledge, PRC confirms that it is time for Britain to act with responsibility and acknowledge the political rights of the Palestinian people, which have been denied for more than a century.
The Balfour Declaration, which has resulted in a significant upheaval in the lives of Palestinians, was issued on November 2, 1917. It turned the Zionist aim of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine into a reality when Britain publicly pledged to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” there.

The pledge came in the form of a letter from Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.

The British government acknowledged in 1939 that the local population’s views should have been taken into account, and recognised in 2017 that the declaration should have called for the protection of the Palestinian Arabs’ political rights.

Though the Balfour Declaration included the admonition that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”, the British mandate was set up in a way to equip Jews with the tools to establish self-rule, at the expense of the Palestinian Arabs.

The Balfour Apology Campaign (BAC), kick-started by PRC some seven years ago matches ongoing endeavors to hold Britain historically, morally, and politically accountable for the dispossession and displacement of 750,000 civilians from their own and only homeland—Palestine—to give way for the establishment of the self-proclaimed state of Israel.

In 2017, the UK government’s acknowledgement of its responsibility for the plight that has befallen Palestinian refugees as a consequence of the Balfour Declaration came after an e-petition headed up by PRC and launched on the official website of the British Parliament attracted nearly 14,000 signatures by British nationals in just a few weeks. Duty-bound to respond to the petition, after it managed to pass the benchmark for an official response, the never-sorry government responded 10 days later, only to confirm that it will not extend any apology over the Balfour pledge.

As BAC campaigners sought to pass the 100,000 yardstick for a parliament discussion, the parliamentary follow-up committee abruptly altered the cut-off date, reducing it from six months to two months and a half only under the guise that snap elections had been called.

Britain’s reluctance is a sign of its failure to pay heed to the horrendous crimes committed by Zionist gangs who crept into Palestine during the British Mandate and embarked on systematic massacres and ethnic genocides that brought about the displacement of millions of Palestinians from over 570,000 Palestinian villages in 1948.

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) held a webinar commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, when thousands of Palestinians were forced out of their homes by Zionist gangs to make way for the creation of prrsent-day Israel.
The webinar was chaired by political activist in the UK Batoul Sbeita.

Richard Falk, a professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, and a former United Nations rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, sounded the alarm over the crimes of ethnic cleansing committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians since the Nakba days.

He said Israel aims to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians and prevent them from returning to their homeland.

Feminist Randa AlSanyoura, also an expert in international humanitarian law, said the Palestinians have been displaced from their homeland more than once since of the Nakba.

She referred to Israel’s eviction plan targeting Palestinian families in the occupied east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah as a stark reminder of the forcible dislocation of Palestinians in 1948.

She added that such crimes seek to establish more setller units for Israelis in violation of international law.

She also said that Israeli aggressions have forced Palestinian women and children in the blockaded Gaza Strip to seek shelter at UNRWA schools and premises.

The activist referred to what she described as a “thread of hope”, in reference to the International Criminal Court’s decision to investigate Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians, expressing her hope that the day will come when the occupation leaders will be held to account.

Actuvist “Sawssen Mohammad” warned of Israeli plans to foster an evironment of deprivation and homelessness against Palestinian children.
In her contribution she cited affidavits testifying to Israeli assaults on Palestinian children and violation of their rights.

She said as many as 500 Palestinian minors have been held in Israeli detention centers and scores of others have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the blickaded Gaza Strip.

Activist Jerry Carol underscored the latest surge in violence by Israeli forces, saying the international community should urgently step in and work on bringing Israeli crimes against the Palestinians to a halt.

Every year on May 15 Palestinians commemorate the day in which tens of thousands of civilians were forced out of their homes during the war that led to the creation of the self-proclaimed State of Israel in 1948.
This year, the Nakba Day comes amid deadly Israeli airstrikes, Jewish mob attacks and other forms of violent tactics imposed by the Zionist forces.
On May 15, 1948, some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled into refugee camps that still exist in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Millions of Palestinians, including those displaced with the establishment of Israel, now found themselves having to live under military occupation, as well as further Israeli expansionism in their lands.
For many Palestinians, the Nakba is the first chapter in a process of land grab that began in 1948.
On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp killed at least 10 Palestinians from an extended family, mostly children.

Over recent days, nearly 10,000 Palesitinians fled to UNRWA schools as they sought safe shelters.
The latest outburst of violence by Israeli forces and settlers started in Jerusalem and spread across the region over the past week, with clashes and rioting in mixed cities of the occupied Palestinian territories. There was also widespread Palestinian protests Friday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people.
PRC has been deeply concerned by the latest surge of violence by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers. The international community and the U.N. agencies should play a crucial third-party role in deterring unauthorized Israeli measures and in facilitating and fostering a climate of dialogue towards a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including the future status of Jerusalem.
PRC strongly condemns Israel’s imminent eviction of Palestinians in the east occupied Jerusalem city of Sheikh Jarrah, in violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law and UN resolutions. If unaddressed, the eviction plan could lead to the displacement of over 500 Palestinians, including women, children, and elderly civilians, from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
The international community should intervene immediately to pressurize Israel to abide by its obligations under international law secure Palestinians’ inalienable rights, including their right to stay on their native land and establish an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.
A lasting solution to the Palestinian refugee plight should also see the day. Palestinian refugees should be granted their right to return to their motherland as per UN Resolution 194 (III) resolving that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date.

On the fifth and last day of the “Return Week”, prominent academics, activists, and legal experts provided forward-looking perspectives on the Palestinian liberation struggle and the right of return.

In  a session entitled ‘The Right of Return: 72 Years of Waiting’ and chaired by activist Batool Subeiti, the first speaker—Lubnah Shomali, from Badil human rights organization—said the Palestinian Nakba extends well beyond the period from 1947 to 1949. The mass exodus began during the British Mandate of Palestine.

In a series of maps she presented during the webinar, Shomali underscored the tragedy that has befallen the Palestinians due to mass displacement, land and property confiscation, and apartheid policies.

She said there are currently about 8.7 million Palestinian refugees and displaced persons. 66% of Palestinians were displaced at least once in their lifetime.

Najwan Berekdar, from ZOCHROT, also appeared onboard. ZOCHROT is an NGO working since 2002 to promote acknowledgement and accountability for the ongoing injustices of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948 and the reconceptualization of the Return as the imperative redress of the Nakba and a chance for a better life for all the country’s inhabitants.

She said that like many others, she feels that she is a refugee due to the racist Israeli policies perpetrated in Palestinian territories occupied since 1948 (present-day Israel).

Berekdar emphasized that the right of return is not just exclusive to Palestinians living abroad or the blockaded Gaza Strip or the West Bank; it’s also about those who seek to retrieve their own place on their native land and villages.

For his part, Dr. Ramzy Barood, an author, a syndicated columnist, editor of Palestine Chronicle and a Senior Research Fellow at Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), underscored the political hurdles preventing the translation of UN resolutions into action.

He said it is high time the international community corrected the traditional understanding that a refugee only needs food and relief items. He said being a refugee is much more complicated and deeper because it is about the search for identity.

Barood said the real challenge is to turn the right of return into a political struggle.

At the same time, Palestinian-American lawyer Huwaida Arraf tackled Israel’s racist policies, which had existed long before 1948 in an attempt to displace the native inhabitants and give way for the establishment of colonial settlements.

Arraf said the implementation of international law has always been subject to political decisions, adding that the Palestinians should continue to speak up for their right of return and mobilize the international community to that end.

She said return is the only fair and legitimate solution to the Palestinian refugee plight: “Our dreams and freedoms are stronger than Israel’s weapons”.

Ali Abunimah, founder of the Electronic Intifada website, said as time has passed by, Israel has been striving to implement tactics aiming to turn the world’s attention away from the Nakba and the right of return.

He said the Palestinians are still enduring the repercussions of the Nakba and are being denied their right to self-determination.

Palestinian author and film-director, Farah Nabulsi also shed the light on the early founding stages of the self-proclaimed Israeli state which has seen the day through a policy of ethnic cleansing, land grab, and forced displacement.

She said nearly 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes by Zionist militias during the Nakba of 1948.

In her view, Israel would not have seen the day had the native Palestinian inhabitants not been displaced from their towns and cities.

On Monday 7th December 2020, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) launched its long-awaited event “Return Week”, marking 72 years since the establishment of UN Resolution 194, which outlines the legality of the Palestinian right of return.

The opening panel was marked by the presence of a plethora of prominent academics. Entitled “The Inalienable Right of Return” the panel was chaired by Shabbir Lakha, from Stop the War Coalition and Counterfire.

Held in its first version this year, the ‘Return Week’ is slated to be held annually by PRC so as to raise awareness amongst the international community about the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

Every year, a plethora of activists, academics, and political commentators will be taking part in seminars organised by PRC as part of ‘Return Week’, in an attempt to underscore the Palestinian refugee plight and discuss pro-Palestine outreach policy and advocacy mechanisms seeking to enable Palestinian refugees to exercise their right of return, through international laws and conventions.

On the second webinar of the “Return Week”, held on Tuesday at 06 p.m GPT, PRC gave the floor to Palestinian activists and refugees who have faced mountainous journeys trying to overcome the trauma inflicted by years of displacement, homelessness, and search for citizenship.

The panel was chaired by Nader Hammoud, the founder of “Palestine in America” blog.

On the panel was Hanan Al Hroub, a Palestinian instructor who received her Global Teacher Prize award from Sunny Varkey of the Varkey Foundation. Hanan grew up in the Palestinian refugee camp, Bethlehem, where she was regularly exposed to acts of violence. She went into primary education after her children were left deeply traumatised by a shooting incident they witnessed on their way home from school. Her experiences in meetings and consultations to discuss her children’s behaviour, development and academic performance in the years that followed led Hanan to try to help others who, having grown up in similar circumstances, require special handling at school.

Hanan said the Palestinians are the only people who have managed to turn their suffering into a space of hope and creativity.

She gave instances on how the Israeli occupation authorities frequently shut down Palestinian schools. “The occupation can destroy our homes, uproot our trees; but never ever shall it take away our dreams”.

She said there could be no peace in the world as long as the Palestinians are deprived of the right to live in peace and serenity on the land of their forebears.

The next speaker was Amina AlAshkar, a Palestinian refugee and journalist living in Lebanon.

Amina spoke about the tragedy of Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon, where they have been denied their basic human rights, including access to the labor market.

Harking back to her father’s story, she said her father was forced to work under dire humanitarian conditions for over 15 hours every single day to provide for his family and secure Amina’s education fees until she managed to learn English and pursue her MA studies in the U.K.

She said Palestinian refugees continue to face discriminatory pressure. In refugee camps they continue to suffer a sense of dis-belonging and loss.

In her terms, the only solution to the refugee plight is to secure the refugees’ right to return to their homeland and end Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

The third speaker—Osama Shahin, a Palestinian refugee from Syria and an engineer working in the U.K—said his story has been one of endless suffering.

He said it is painful that Palestinian refugees are considered as “second-class citizens”. His family was subjected to a two-fold displacement, one in 1948, when the Zionist gangs forced his grandparents out of their lands; the second in 2011, following the outburst of the bloody Syrian conflict.

Osama returned to the moments when he was denied entry into two Arab Gulf countries due to his refugee status.

Also figuring onboard was Assala Sayara, a social worker, social justice activist and storyteller of Palestinian descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia.

Asala said the Israeli occupation has failed to take away Palestinian refugees’ right of return despite its ceaseless attempts to negate this right and displace the Palestinians from their homeland.

She said Palestine lives in her heart and soul, though she has been living thousands of miles away from the land of her grandparents.

“Palestine was and still is my reason for living”, said Asala, who visited Palestine more than once and witnessed, with her own eyes, Israel’s crackdowns and discriminatory practices at security checkpoints.

For her part, Lorena Mussa, the President of the General Union of Palestinian Students of Chile, said as a member of the Palestinian community, which makes up a minority group in Chile, she cannot forget about her right to return to her native land from which her parents were forced out following the Nakba of 1948.

Lorena accused the Israeli government of pursuing preplanned human rights abuses against the Palestinians, saying she attempted to visit Palestine more than once but Israel keeps denying her this right.

She said the Palestinians will not bear remaining in exile for their whole lifetime, adding that the key solution to the issue is to have the refugees’ right of return materialize on the ground.

Ahmed Abu Artema, a Palestinian writer and activist and the founder of ‘The Great March of Return’ in Gaza, also spoke about the suffering of Palestinian refugees in Gaza due to the 12-year Israeli blockade.

He said the Great Return March held on the Gaza border, and which coincided with Donald Trump’s tension-rousing declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, was a proof that the Palestinians will never forfeit their right of return.

At the same time, Anas Radhi, from the Palestinian Youth Foundation in Britain – Olive, stressed the need to raise the younger generations’ awareness about their ties to Palestine.

He said Palestine is a fair cause, urging the youth and the international community to advocate a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian refugee plight.

The final speaker—Lina Abu Jaradeh, a Palestinian refugee in Jordan who won several international awards in film making and writing—said the Palestinians should not wait for anybody to recognize them; The Palestinians should create their own opportunities, speak their own language, and stand up for their own rights.

She said the right of return is paramount and it is so painful that first-generation refugees are dying outside their native land.

On Monday 7th December 2020, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) launched its long-awaited event “Return Week”, marking 72 years since the establishment of UN Resolution 194, which outlines the legality of the Palestinian right of return.

The opening panel was marked by the presence of a plethora of prominent academics. Entitled “The Inalienable Right of Return” the panel was chaired by Shabbir Lakha, from Stop the War Coalition and Counterfire.

Held in its first version this year, the ‘Return Week’ is slated to be held annually by PRC so as to raise awareness amongst the international community about the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

Every year, a plethora of activists, academics, and political commentators will be taking part in seminars organised by PRC as part of ‘Return Week’, in an attempt to underscore the Palestinian refugee plight and discuss pro-Palestine outreach policy and advocacy mechanisms seeking to enable Palestinian refugees to exercise their right of return, through international laws and conventions.

The Palestinian Return Centre will be hosting its first annual ‘Return Week’ with efforts fully underway to amplify the Palestinian refugee community’s call for their right of return.

The PRC will officially be launching ‘Return Week’ on Monday, December 7, 2020 at 7pm (GMT) – 8:30pm (GMT). A distinguished panel of speakers will inaugurate Return Week, the opening seminar will underscore the inalienable Palestinian right of return.

The opening seminar will be chaired by Shabbir Lakha, Officer at Stop the War Coalition and campaigner at the People’s Assembly; Speakers include Noura Erakat, a human rights attorney, author and assistant professor at Rutgers University. She has served as legal counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives and as a legal advocate for Palestinian refugee rights at the United Nations; Iman Jodeh, Representative-Elect for House District 41 in Aurora, Colorado. She is a first generation American, born to Palestinian immigrants and refugees, and the first Muslim and Arab woman elected to the Colorado State Legislature; Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian doctor, academic and author. She writes frequently on Palestinian issues in The Guardian, The Nation and Journal of Palestine Studies. Her many publications include her acclaimed memoir, In Search of Fatima, chronicling her family’s expulsion from Palestine to Britain in 1948.

The second event of Return Week, entitled ‘Voices in Exile’ seminar, aims to provide a platform for Palestinian refugees around the world voicing their plight, and calling for their right of return, from Lebanon to Chile, to Australia to Gaza. Speakers include Ahmed Abu Artema, a Palestinian writer and activist and the founder of ‘The Great March of Return’ in Gaza; Hanan Hroub, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize in 2016; Assala Sayara, a social worker, social justice activist, public speaker and storyteller of Palestinian descent; And Lorena Mussa, the President of the General Union of Palestinian Students of Chile.

‘Return Week’ will culminate in a closing panel entitled ‘The Right of Return: 72 Years of Waiting’. The closing panel consists of speakers who will be shedding light, exclusively, on the joint efforts of the US and Israel to nullify the Palestinian right of return, as well as well their efforts to mobilise for the right of return of the world’s largest refugee population.

‘Return Week’ commencing this year, will be held annually by the PRC to raise awareness amongst the international community about the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

Every year, a plethora of activists, academics, and political commentators will take part in seminars organised by the PRC as part of ‘Return Week’, in an attempt to underscore the Palestinian refugee plight and discuss pro-Palestine outreach policy and advocacy mechanisms seeking to enable Palestinian refugees to exercise their right of return, through international laws and conventions.