Press Releases

(11 September 2000) "No Return = No Peace": Palestine - Lebanon - Washington DC - London: Palestinian Refugees Rally for their Right of Return

BADIL Resource Center
11 September 2000
For Immediate Release


 

Thousands of Palestinian refugees and their supporters will hold rallies and marches in Palestine, Lebanon, Washington DC and London to demand the implementation of their right of return to the homes and lands from which they were expelled in the course of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Palestinian refugees demand recognition and implementation of their right of return, a right enshrined in international law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN Resolution 194 - and persistently denied by Israel. 

The Right-of-Return Rallies of September 15-17 mark the anniversary of the 1982 massacres of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in then Israeli-occupied Beirut and aim to convey one united messages to the world: "No Return of Palestinian Refugees = No Peace in the Middle East!" 

 

RIGHT - of - RETURN RALLIES: PROGRAM 

* PALESTINE, 15 - 16 September: 
15 September, 13:00, Haifa: 
Internally Displaced Palestinians, community activists and representatives of Palestinian institutions will hold a Right-of-Return March leading from the Istiqlal Mosque through Vad al-Salib to the historical-Arab (and current Israeli) municipality of Haifa. The event is organized by the National Committee for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced in Israel (spokesperson tel: 050-267679) in coordination with Ittijah (tel. 04-8642535, 04-8621713); 

16 September, 1967 Israeli occupied West Bank: 

  • 13:00 - 14:00, Ibdaa Cultural Center/Deheishe camp: Palestinian refugee children in the southern West Bank will exchange email letters and messages with Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon (Ibdaa, tel. 052-923812); 
  • 14:00 - 17:00: Palestinian refugee children will exhibit photos of the 1982 massacre against Palestinian civilians in the camps of Sabra and Shatila/Beirut at major public sites in Bethlehem (14:00-15:00: Jerusalem-Hebron road, next to Deheishe camp; 15:00 - 16:00: Nativity Square/Bethlehem; 16:00-17:00: Bab-al-Zqaq intersection); 
  • 17:00: Right-of-Return March leading from the Memorial for the Martyrs of the Intifada/Deheishe Camp to the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. In the Aida camp, Palestinian refugees will lay the cornerstone of a new Memorial for the Victims of the Massacres at Sabra and Shatila and present the joint statement of Palestinian refugee institutions. 
  • A similar Right-of-Return March will also be organized by Palestinian refugees in the northern West Bank in the Balata camp area on 16 September. 
  • Photo exhibitions and Right-of-Return Marches in the West Bank are organized by the BADIL Friends Forum in cooperation with Palestinian refugee institutions (tel. 02-2747346; 052-360769; 09-2333553). 

* UNITED STATES: WASHINGTON DC, 16 September: 
Palestinian refugees, the Arab-Palestinian community and supporters of the Palestinian right of return will hold a march and rally to: 

  • Demand an end to five decades of exile for Palestinians; 
  • Demand that Palestinian refugees return to their homes and lands; 
  • Mark the anniversary of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres; 
  • Celebrate the resilience and resistance of the Palestinian people; 
  • Begin the March Home. 

The Right-of-Return March in Washington DC is organized by the Palestine Right of Return Coalition (PRRC; [email protected]; tel. 203-785-6317). It will begin at Freedom Plaza at 11:00 a.m. and proceed along Pennsylvania avenue. It will be followed by a rally in Lafayette Park. 

* EUROPE: LONDON, 17 September: 
The Right-of-Return March organized by the Palestine Right of Return Coalition in Europe will be held in London on 17 September. It will begin at Tothill Street (opposite Westminster Abbey, SW1) at 11:00 a.m., and proceed along past Downing Street, where a letter will be presented to Prime Minister Tony Bleir, and from there to Trafalgar Square. The March will be followed by a rally in Trafalgar Square from 13:00 - 15:00 p.m. ([email protected]; tel. 0044-796-719-5101; 
0044-207-237-3317). 
 

Support the Palestinian Refugees in their Legitimate Quest for Return! 

Attend our Right-of-Return Marches on 15 - 17 September 2000! 

NO RETURN of PALESTINIAN REFUGEES =   NO PEACE in the MIDDLE EAST!