Sidon, February 14, 2020
A meeting held this week by a number of civil society organizations in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon has paved the way for the upcoming launch of “My Return” international campaign by the London-based Palestinian Return Centre (PRC).
The meeting, held at Sidon’s Municipality Hall, was convened at the invitation of Thabet Organization for the Right of Return in an attempt to familiarize pro-Palestine NGOs in Lebanon with the goals of “My Return” campaign.
Director of Thabet Organization, Sami Hammoud, said the campaign seeks to collect the largest possible number of signatures on a petition confirming Palestinians’ commitment to their right to return to their homeland and refusal of all endeavors to undermine their refugee status.
Hammoud said regional and international events will be held by PRC in cooperation with other pro-Palestine partners and a team of international volunteers so as to mobilize wider support for the campaign.
Director-General of Dar AlAwda for Studies, Yaser Ali, pointed out the dangerous implications of the US Middle East peace plan, dubbed the “deal of the century”, saying the plan seeks to strike at the very foundations of the Palestinian cause and the refugee issue.
He said “the deal of the century” violates international resolutions and covenants as regards the Palestinian cause.
“My Return” initiative is an international campaign launched by PRC in partnership with Palestinian and international human rights partners and NGOs in order to amass the largest possible number of signatures showing Palestinians’ unyielding commitment to their right of return to their homeland—a right guaranteed by International Law and relevant UN resolutions.
The campaign comes at a time when efforts have been intensified by Israel and its allies, most notably the US, to negate Palestinians’ refugee status and, as a result, rescind their right of return to their homeland and delegitimize any institution providing assistance to the refugees, such as UNRWA.
The right of return refers to the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland from which they have been expelled since 1948. It implies both first-generation refugees and their descendants, regardless of their place of birth or residence and their political, social, and economic condition.