When European Jewish settlers embarked on brutal ethnic cleansing to establish Israel in 1948, they believed the Palestinian population would be the least of their problems. Zionist leaders like David Ben-Gurion thought that “the refugee problem would resolve itself”.

There was a deep-seated conviction among Zionists that Palestinians lacked an identity and would flee to neighboring Arab countries to assimilate. They would not return to claim their stolen land.

But the opposite happened. Decade after decade, the Palestinian national cause grew stronger. Few survivors of the 1948 Nakba remain, but commitment to Palestinian rights and historical justice is as strong as ever. Older generations taught the young to remember and keep the keys to their ancestral homes in their minds.

The “refugee problem” did not resolve itself not only because of Palestinian determination but also because Israeli policies of violence and dispossession backfired. Theft of land and resources and violent displacement became the starting point for every Palestinian generation to reject occupation.

As Israel succeeded in usurping more Palestinian land, it failed miserably in controlling Palestinian consciousness. Refugee camps became centers of resistance, giving birth to prominent thinkers, doctors, educators, and leaders who spread the message of rejecting occupation.

Palestinian refugees were the drivers of the first Intifada of 1987 and the second Intifada of 2000. Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, injured 170,000, and displaced 1.9 million. But the violence has only deepened Palestinian resistance.

Israel's failure is also global. The Palestinian cause has grown beyond a marginal left-wing issue to attract attention across the political spectrum in the West and beyond. In elections in the US and UK, support for Palestinian rights can sway results. Israel ensured its own defeat the moment it embarked on the Nakba.

Source: www.aljazeera.com