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Palestinian refugees are the longest-standing displaced population in modern history. There are currently more than 8 million displaced Palestinians spanning several countries, including internally displaced persons inside Israel.
In the second episode of a three-part series on the right of return for Palestinian refugees, Lubnah Shomali from BADIL, a Palestinian organization that advocates for refugees’ rights, discusses the practicalities of return.
“Israel has to be brought into compliance with international law and be forced to make reparations to the Palestinian people,” says Shomali. “This is standard practice in international law. We’re not thinking outside the box — the box is there and the international community put it there.”
Throughout the episode, Shomali answers questions like: how would return be facilitated? Who would be involved in the process? And what happens in cases where refugees aren’t able to return to their original homes?
Bringing refugees back is “probably the easiest part,” she states. “If we do not create programs, projects, infrastructures, economic institutions for a viable nation-state or community, then the return will not be sustainable.”
The essence of return, she notes, is to restore the structures that were lost from the displacement while building an equitable society for all.
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Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
Can we count on your support ? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.
