Spurred by the Arab revolutions, Palestinians marked Nakba Day this year with unprecedented scenes of protest, within and without occupied Palestine, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah


May 20, 2011

There was a special aura characterising this year's Nakba anniversary on Sunday, 15 May. Unlike previous years, when the Nakba was commemorated with rhetoric but very little else, this year witnessed a determined reassertion of the centrality to the Palestinian cause of the right of return.

"In the past, we were relating to the right of return with a sort of abstract determination. But this year, many people feel that invoking the right of return is acquiring a realistic tone. We are no longer talking about chimerical goals, at least as far as we are concerned," said Mohamed Jawabrah, a middle-aged teacher from the Arroub Refugee Camp.

"We feel the right of return is being extricated from the realm of uncertainty and symbolism into the realm of relevance. At the very least, there is now a greater realisation among all those concerned, including the Israelis, the Americans, and especially the refugees themselves, that there can be no real and lasting peace in this region without the repatriation of all or most of the refugees back to their homes."

Many Palestinians, galvanised by scenes of refugees amassing at the borders in Syria and Lebanon and trying to "go back home", are rediscovering one the greatest assets of their cause.

Intellectuals and political leaders declared Sunday's protests a historic moment. "There is a sense of unity and solidarity and that is a source of empowerment," said Hanan Ashrawi. "The movement of non-violent protests will continue until the establishment of a viable Palestinian state."

Another Palestinian leader, Mustafa Barghouti, said the Palestinian people have rediscovered the power of popular and peaceful resistance. "This is one of the results of the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas. Reconciliation has greater potentials still, and we must pursue and utilise these potentials to the fullest."

Barghouti suggested that the Palestinians were getting stronger, at least diplomatically, as more countries extend support for the planned declaration of Palestinian statehood in September.

In Gaza City, Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas-run government, attributed the "new spirit" among Palestinians, which he said instilled this year's commemorations of the Nakba with special significance, to Arab revolutions. "Nothing of what you see would have been possible without the Arab revolutions, especially the Egyptian revolution," he said.

In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas vowed that the blood of the martyrs killed by Israeli occupation soldiers wouldn't be spilt in vain. "The spilling of the blood of the martyrs will only speed up the disappearance of the occupation; it will make the creation of the Palestinian state more certain than ever."

Predictably, the Israeli government instructed its troops to meet peaceful Palestinian protests with live bullets. In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, at least one protester was killed and 400 injured by rubber-coated bullets and tear gas inhalation. This in addition to 10 killed by Israeli troops on the northern borders.

Reacting to the Palestinian protests and rallies, Israeli leaders issued panicked statements, with some Knesset and cabinet members calling on the government to annex Jewish colonists in the West Bank. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, looking sombre and tense, accused the Palestinians of wanting to destroy Israel.

"These protests prove that the conflict with the Palestinians is not over the 1967 borders, but rather over Israel itself," he said.

Netanyahu ignored the expulsion of the bulk of the Palestinian people from their homes in what is now Israel when the Zionist state was created in 1948. He also overlooked the fact that these same people and their descendants have an inalienable right, sanctioned by international law, to return to their homes and villages.

In a speech before the Knesset on 16 May, Netanyahu reiterated his previous stance on peace with the Palestinians. He said the Palestinians would have to forget about the repatriation of the refugees, recognise Israel as an exclusive homeland for the Jewish people and agree that Jerusalem was Israel's united and undivided capital. He also pointed out that any Palestinian state would have to be demilitarised and that Israel would have to maintain armed forces along the River Jordan for many years to come.

Israeli commentators viewed Netanyahu's speech, a replication of his past rejectionist stances, as a rehearsal of his speech before the US Congress slated for 24 May.

Doubtless the United States and the West in general will view with consternation the reassertion of the right of return for refugees by the vast majority of Palestinians. One of the undeclared but key components of a possible final status agreement between Israel and the PA involves trading the right of return for Palestinian statehood.

Even the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which is in charge of negotiations with Israel, is likely to be worried that the renewed emphasis on the right of return might limit its flexibility in future talks with Israel. One Palestinian commentator said that any Palestinian official or negotiator appearing willing to compromise the right of return would be effectively committing political suicide.