Palestinian Youth… New Hope for Near Return

Sara Taha

It has been 63 years since the UK handed over Palestine to Zionist gangs allowing them to forcibly exile the Palestinian natives from their homes and establish a racist state that overpowers and terrorizes all its neighboring countries.

Time flew by and the Palestinian dispersed community has been conducting operations, concluding agreements, making concessions and achieving victories, yet no practical progress has been attained. Palestine is still controlled by a Zionist scheme backed by international resolutions; Palestinians are still listed as refugees; and extending refugee camps are still present in various spots in the Arab world.

The Palestinian “right of return” was adopted 63 years ago by the Arab states as their major cause, yet various Arab causes have been resolved except for this one. Regional enmity and war were declared against Israel, yet peace and truce treaties were signed with the “enemy” by those regimes.

Despite all these frauds, compromises and abandonments, the Palestinian refugee has never lost hope and has always been ready to sacrifice and die as martyr; even if he did not witness liberation and return, his satisfaction lies in knowing that he did not desert his origin and has passed his cause on to his sons and grandsons.

On Sunday, the Palestinian youth assured this to the entire world. They sent a clear message that even if the exiled generation was gone, there are still descendants who are ready to carry the banner with even more challenge and persistence.

IN MAJOR CAUSES, PASSION IS CARRIED GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
Sociopolitical analyst Dr. Nadim Mohsen explains this point to Al-Manar’s Website saying that “in major causes that have cultural, national, and moral bases like the Palestinian cause, direct exposure to the issue is not basic. It is not confined to the generation that was exiled from Palestine and is still keeping the house keys until today. As long as the cause is alive, consequent generations would be more involved as they would carry the passion, burden as well as the responsibility; and even if the direct suffering was gone, the latent love would evolve, in addition to the latent misery due to their residence in refugee camps”.

This year’s Nakba (catastrophe) Day differed from previous years on various levels. The Palestinians were united, Arab victories were in their heydays, Arab enthusiasm was unprecedented, and so a successful and diligent commemoration was conducted.

Dr. Mohsen describes the scene Sunday, May 15, 2011 as full of hope.
“Seeing those men and women climbing the hills toward the border fences, nonchalant of the bullets and wounds, was like a new beginning. This passion that emerged that day is addicting and contagious, it could never be concealed anymore”.

He considers that the “return to Palestine” march is a “relief to the Palestinian refugee, as the misery of the refugee camps was substituted by the dream of Palestine”.
“They recognized that Palestine was their shelter and their belonging,” the sociopolitical analyst stressed.

Furthermore, Dr. Mohsen assures that “this is the natural state that should have been present and supported all along”.

“The natural state for the Palestinians is to be present on a daily basis on the borders trying to return to Palestine, and the Lebanese and Syrian people helping them achieve that… The absence of such daily actions is due to a certain pressure imposed on the refugee camps and on the Palestinians”.

The Palestinian youth on Sunday showed the world an omnipotent bravery and an evident passion when they confronted heavily armed Israeli occupation forces with bear chests and decided to advance closer to their usurped land armed with stones, loud voices, slogans and determination.

According to Dr. Mohsen, such pressure should be imposed permanently and in similar rallies by all the Arab countries that share borders with Palestine.

“We’ve always used to say that if all Arabs march towards Palestine, the Israelis would attack them and commit massacres, but eventually we would enter Palestine; just by the pressure our big number would impose, we would succeed in achieving that”.

Pointing out to the important role the media play in directing points of views, Dr. Mohsen says that “the media are strongly involved in revealing one’s right. Israelis for example have an unjust idea that is manipulated by media to appear righteous. However, the Arabs that have all the right are weak, and by continuously organizing peaceful civilian rallies to the borders, the whole world would recognize this right”.

“The intifada (uprising) that took place in 1987 had the strongest effect. It was able to dent the international public opinion, as for the first time they saw children tossing stones at heavily armed soldiers. This is a major issue, every citizen should resist with the capabilities he has. If we have rockets, we fire rockets, if we have the physical ability, we march with our bodies, and if we have influential music, we use music”.

The sociopolitical analyst further said that “the latest internal reconciliation as well as Sunday’s march to the borders have redirected the Palestinians’ attention”.

“Today, and after seeing Palestine with their bare eyes, the Palestinian refugees’ concern is no longer Fatah, Hamas, the Islamic front, PLO or other groups, but the major focus is Palestine. They saw Palestine as a reality rather than a slogan, an unattainable cause, or an internal conflict and competition… When you see it that close, you start thinking, this is our land just a few meters away, this is our right and it is so close to us”.

Dr. Mohsen explains that as human beings, the materialistic part in us needs to be satisfied with material as well.
“When a person sees his olive trees and hills, when he sees Palestine with his senses not just emotions, he would recognize the realism of this right”.

However, to what extent will the Palestinians tolerate marching in “return to Palestine” rallies toward their occupied country’s borders and coming back to their refugee camps? When will the patience of seeing Israeli soldiers arrogantly preventing them from entering Palestine fade away? And when will they decisively revolt against their long stay in deprived camps because they are denied of living in their vast, flourished occupied land?

Amid the Arab youth revolutions against their corrupt regimes, the Palestinian youth got enthused to follow these successful steps in attaining victory, and if this atmosphere proceeds… could this be the last Palestinian refugee generation?
Maroun Al-Ras pictures by Wassim Sader
Just another Palestinian sample...
Via FLC
Palestinians will march back to Lebanon-Palestine border on Sunday ...

'Washington wants the Lebanese Army 'act as buffer''

BEIRUT: "Palestinians will march on Israel’s borders from neighboring Arab states Sunday to mark the 1967 war, a top Fatah commander said, calling on the United Nations to protect the protesters.“We, who hope to return to our lands in Palestine, are planning a peaceful rally this Sunday” at the Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian borders with Israel as well as the Gaza Strip, Fatah commander in Lebanon Munir Maqdah told AFP.Maqdah urged Arab states and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, a 12,000-strong peacekeeping force stationed at Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, to “ensure the protection of this peaceful gathering.”

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