The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London held a webinar entitled “International Policies Impacts on the global Palestine Solidarity Movement”.

Chairperson Mick Napier, from Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said he believes the long-term plan of the Israeli regime is to have a Palestine without any Palestinians.

The first speaker, Gerry Carroll MLA, the People Before Profit MLA for West Belfast, who has represented the Belfast West constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly since May 2016.

Carroll referred to the growing solidarity with Palestine, including in the 2022 World Cup. He said Israel’s self-proclaimed cliché of “the only democracy in the Middle East” is just erroneous; Israel is rather becoming more aggressive and more racist.

According to Carroll, state-sponsored racism and violence is going unabated to kick Palestinians out of their homes. This form of institutionalized racism systematically discriminates against Palestinians.

He said Israel has attempted to forcibly evict Palestinians from their lands since the Nakbah of 1948. “This settler colonial apartheid state refused the right of millions of Palestinians to return to their homeland”, he added.

The second speaker was Leah Levane, co-chair Jewish Voice for Labour. She highlighted Israel’s mass cleansing and mass eviction policy, citing Masafer Yatta communities and the constant demolitions they have been subjected to as an example.

“I don’t believe Israel is a Jewish State; Israel is a state for Jews and there’s a difference”, she said. “Many Jews object Israel’s policies, house-demolitions, and repressive tactis”, she said, referring to Israel as a settler colonial state.”

“Interestingly, the small Jewish community and smaller pro-Palestine Jewish community in Ireland and New Zealand are making progress in terms of solidarity with the Palestinians”, she added.

She concluded by saying Israel’s polices are a form of “fascism” but “we can’t give up hope for a better Palestine”.

The full webinar can be watched here:

https://www.facebook.com/returncentre/videos/534676001871343

The webinar falls in line with the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People, marked every year on November 29.

Since 1978, the United Nations has commemorated the day as a way to express solidarity with the people of Palestine. The day aims to spread more awareness about Israeli violations faced by the Palestinian people along with promoting international support of Palestinian rights, most notably the right to self-determination, statehood, return to the homeland.

This year, the annual observance comes amidst an alarming situation exacerbated not only by Israel’s escalating policy of mass collective punishment, mass demolitions, and ethnic cleansing, but also by simmering ad hominem campaigns seeking to criminalize solidarity with Palestine.

Yet, support continues to pour through, most recently at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where almost every match has witnessed fans either raising the Palestinian flag, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, or chanting slogans in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Although Palestine and Israel did not participate in the World Cup 2022, the Palestinian cause imposed its prominent presence in the events and stadiums of the World Cup, which has been organized for the first time in a Middle East country.