The statement is as follows:

Today, on 15 May 2020, Palestinians around the world remember the 72nd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. Al-Nakba, meaning ‘the catastrophe’ in Arabic, represents the Palestinian exodus and the displacement of roughly 700,000 Palestinians from historic Palestine in 1948 at the behest of the Zionist occupation and British colonialism. 

On this occasion, we affirm that the inalienable rights that Palestinians hold under international law will not be compromised, and that the Palestinian people will never concede on their right to return to the homes forcibly taken from them and their ancestors. 

Despite the systematic suffering, displacement, and oppression that has aimed to eradicate Palestinian identity and the right of return, Palestinians will continue to resist and remain steadfast in defending their human rights. While occasions remembering the Nakba are not necessitated to remind Palestinians of their collective suffering, it is an occasion where all Palestinians can emphasize the absolute belief and confidence in both the just cause for which we are all fighting, and the belief that we will inevitably return to the land and holy sites that have been forcibly appropriated from us. 

Indeed, Palestine, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa remain key pillars of the unified struggle of the Palestinian nation and are at the heart of the fight for justice and human rights in Palestine. We affirm that those ceding these pillars and calling for, or pursuing, acts of normalization with the state of occupation are a stain on this struggle for justice and human rights.  

On this anniversary, it is essential to renew the unbinding covenant of the Palestinian people in the fight towards liberation. In this context, we affirm the following: 

1.Return to Palestine is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people and will not be reneged and comprised just as the mountains of Safad, Eilaboun and Nablus remain immovable. All unjust Zionist procedures that seek to change the identity of the land upon which our fathers and forefathers resided on will fail. 

2.We affirm our categorical rejection of all initiatives and projects designed to liquidate the Palestinian issue or diminish the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Foremost amongst these projects is the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’. In this regard, we affirm the right of the Palestinian people to resist these projects using any and all available means within international law. 

3.We affirm our total rejection of all acts of normalization with the state of occupation. Whether political, cultural, artistic, commercial, or in the sports, we consider such acts detrimental to the pursuit of justice in Palestine. We also note that such acts serve to rationalize the crimes and human rights abuses of the occupier and provide the state of occupation with a carte blanche for the furtherance of these crimes. 

4.We salute the steadfastness of the thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, 1948 lands, and in the diaspora, and we invite them to participate in activities pertaining to the commemoration of Nakba72 using all available means (including social media campaigns and physical demonstrations where possible). Foremost amongst these initiatives is the international campaign ‘Return . . . My Right, My Decision’ and the International Campaign for Preserving Palestinian Identity (Intimaa).

5.We send our warm greetings and well-wishes to the 5000 heroes of Palestine languishing in uninhabitable conditions across Israel’s jails. We urge our people to provide all forms of support to these heroes, including but not limited to resisting and rejecting the proposed initiative by the occupation state to compel banks in the West Bank to close the accounts of Palestinians spending time in Israel’s jails. 

6.We call for our people to remain steadfast and united around the key and fundamental principles underpinning our cause: identity, the sanctity of land, and the right of return. Upholding these principles, we urge the Palestinian people to find unity at this crucial moment as ending fragmentation is key in overcoming this brutal occupation. 

In conclusion, we remember the blood of our martyrs who, for over a century, have sacrificed their liberty and freedom for our legitimate national collective right to liberation and return to our homeland. We keep them in our hearts on this day as we strive towards a more just future in which Palestinians will return to their homeland and sweep the illegal occupation into the dustbin of history. 

Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB)

Friends of Al-Aqsa

Palestinian Youth Organisation (Olive)

Palestinian Return Center (PRC)

European Palestinian Communication Forum (Europal)                                                                                                         (ILKHA)