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go through Ramsay Baroud 
Thanks to Palestinian memory, Palestinians are once again united by an understanding of the past, a firmness in the present, and hope for a just future.
Israel has inadvertently pressed the “reset button” on its war with the Palestinian people, bringing the so-called conflict back to square one.
With the exception of a handful of self-serving Palestinian officials affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, most Palestinians appear unenthusiastic about returning to the peace process or even participating in discussions about a two-state solution.
Dialogue among Palestinians now focuses on various aspects of the Palestinian struggle, starting with the ethnic cleansing of Palestine 76 years ago, an event known as the “nakba”.
“Nakba Day” is observed on May 15 every year. However, the nature of the commemorations changes each year depending on the different stages of the Palestinian struggle. In fact, the significance of Naqbar Day depends on the political context of the time – it is elevated in times of hope and devalued in times of despair, defeat and infighting.
In the early stages of the Palestinian struggle, after nearly 80 percent of Palestine’s Arab population had been expelled, the right of return was not a slogan or a symbol. It was a real possibility, at least in the minds of most refugees.
This right is enshrined in international law by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 December 1948. At the time, Palestinian exile was considered temporary – hence the term “shelter” became associated with the crude accommodation in post-war refugee camps. These refugee camps stretch from Palestine itself to other countries throughout the Middle East.
At the time, Arab nationalism was a powerful political concept that defined pan-Arab political discourse centered on Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. However, as time passed, it became increasingly clear that Arab liberators would not come to liberate Palestine, nor would UN resolutions on Palestine be implemented. Palestinians often say they are just “ink on paper.”
Experience has taught Palestinians to be skeptical of lofty promises, especially when the “temporary shelter” provided by the United Nations becomes a permanent, everyday reality.
Regardless, Palestinians continue to commemorate the Nakba as their collective memory becomes their primary weapon against Israeli erasure.
this rise After its establishment in the 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) emphasized the liberation of all of Palestine and used revolutionary slogans and armed struggle to rekindle the hope of ordinary Palestinians that the right of return was still possible.
However, these hopes were dashed after the PLO was forced into action. exile from Lebanon in 1982 and the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 between Israel and the increasingly irrelevant Palestinian leadership.
The Oslo Accords and its fraudulent US-led peace process allowed Israel to finish what it started during the Palestinian Nakba. Israel’s greatest achievement is the creation of a Palestinian entity that will help it achieve ultimate victory over the Palestinian people. The Palestinian Authority became this entity, causing factional and class divisions in Palestinian society to widen.
Since then, Israel has successfully annexed much of historical Palestine, controlled dissident Palestinians through the Palestinian Authority, and besieged Gaza as collective punishment for their continued resistance. All the wars against Gaza in recent years have been designed to remind Palestinians of Israel’s strength and Palestinian weakness.
Yet Palestinians continue to commemorate the Nakba, even though the right of return has become marginalized as a political concept and is almost never discussed as a pressing political issue by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Recent years have shown that Israel is ready to move beyond all this and enter a new political phase, one that is indifferent to Palestinian aspirations.
The Israeli occupation, illegal settlements, occupied Jerusalem, and all other key topics of importance to Palestinians are no longer part of the Israeli election campaign, or even part of the overall Israeli political discourse. This mentality defines all mainstream political groups in Israel, from the far right to the left.
For Israel, all that seems to matter is the expansion of illegal settlements, the annexation of the West Bank, the normalization of military occupation, and occasional military raids and wars aimed at suppressing resistance movements.
However, October 7th changed all that. The new political discourse that emerged in postwar Gaza forced the international community to rethink Palestine and the Palestinian struggle.
This was reflected in Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s speech on the Palestinian Nakba Day at a press conference on May 15.
“Seventy-six years have passed, and the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people has not been corrected, but has worsened,” Wen Bin said. explainConnecting past to present, Gaza to historic Palestine.
This new discourse is taking hold, and the historical divisions in Palestine caused by Oslo are quickly disappearing, replaced by a healthy approach to justice in Palestine. While Washington and some of its Western allies insist on a return to the status quo of endless negotiations, other countries are no longer beholden to such stifling, self-serving rhetoric.
This change in perspective is not only a result of the failure of Oslo and Israel’s brutality and genocide in Gaza, but primarily because of the steadfastness and resistance of the Palestinians themselves.
It turns out that collective memory is not just an academic concept but a weapon in the hands of ordinary people.
Thanks to their memory, Palestinians are once again united in a shared understanding of the past, an unwavering commitment to the present, and hope for a just future.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is Our Vision of Liberation: Giving Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals a Speak. Dr. Baroud is a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Islamic and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
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