PETITIONERS STATEMENTS

Born in Nablus, Palestine in 1934 with a family history dating back 800 years. During his life, he has established himself as a global industrialist and philanthropist. He has operated as an independent civil society actor, seeking unity across different parts of the Palestinian spectrum, investing in the development of Palestinian state economy and institutions, and advocating for Palestinian rights to self-determination and independence. 

Born and grew up in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, because her grandparents were forcibly displaced from their homes in Kfar Kanna in the Galilee region in July 1948 and Tarshiha in October 1948. None of her family have since been able to return to their homelands in the 1948-conquered territories.

His family originates from the village of Arab Abu Kishk, located north of Jaffa which is now in Israel. They were well known for cultivating and exporting citrus fruits to Europe. His family was forcibly displaced and barred from returning to their lands. Their properties were classified as ‘state-owned’ by the newly-formed Israeli government in 1948. 

His family is from the village of Rummana, located in the district of Jenin. Mr Alahmad’s grandfather and great-uncles owned significant amounts of land in Marj Ibn Amer, which became part of Israel. The family has never regained access, despite still holding their land ownership documents.

His family are from the city of Nablus in Palestine. His great-grandfather owned one of the largest residential buildings there, housing fifty of Mr Arafat’s family members.  During the 1936-39 Arab Rebellion, it was demolished thanks to a military order made by a British army commander without the involvement of a court or prior notice. The entire family were displaced.

His family originates from the village of Al-Dawayima, located in the Hebron subdistrict, which was conquered by Israel in 1948. Most in the family fled, avoiding Operation Yoav on 28 and 29 October 1948, but one of his father’s uncles was among those killed in the ensuing massacre, an event since documented both by survivors and in Israeli military records.

He was born, grew up and continues to live in the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, Palestine. His family came from the village of Qaqun, situated in the Tulkarm district. They fled the area when attacks by the Alexandroni Brigade of the Haganah began in the surrounding area prior to the British withdrawal in May 1948 and continued thereafter. The family were never allowed to return to their homes.

His family lived in a village called Tireh (‘Tira’) Dandan, near al-Yahudiya, in the Al-Lydd - now Lod  - district. In July 1948, as a fourteen-year-old boy, Mr Al-Haj witnessed Haganah forces entering his village as part of Operation Dani that led to the expulsion of the family to the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus where Mr Haj still lives. 

He also grew up in the Balata Refugee Camp following his parents’ expulsion from their village of Tireh Dandan in the Al-Lydd  - now Lod - district after Zionist militias took over the land in July 1948. The family left behind land, houses, livestock, and businesses and have been unable to return.

His family originate from the village of Miska, in the Tulkarm district, now part of the State of Israel. Mr Harb is 88 years. His family was forced to temporarily leave Miska after the British army on 27 May 1938 executed six men from his extended family.  In April 1948, prior to the British withdrawal, the family left the village again, this time under duress of threats from Zionist militias. After attacks on the surrounding area in May 1949, they moved to the Hannota mountains and then the Balata refugee camp, where Mr Harb still lives.

His family came from Jaffa, which from January to April 1948 was subjected to attacks from the Irgun and the Haganah, culminating in a major operation on 25 April 1948. The family were expelled and eventually moved to the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus where he still lives.

Her family came from Safad, in the Upper Galilee. In early May 1948, before Britain had fully withdrawn, the Haganah conducted a ground attack on the Palestinian Arab part of the town.  She was eight at the time and recalls armed men arriving at the family home threatening their lives if they did not leave. The family walked to Syria, where they lived in a refugee camp, before the petitioner through her studies and employment was able to move to the United States.

His family came from Saffuriyya, in Nazareth, which was destroyed in 1948 after Britain’s withdrawal.  Mr Barakeh’s father witnessed British forces arbitrarily killing villagers, including disabled men and burning homes. His family were displaced during the Nakba, after a Haganah campaign that included bombing the village.

Her family originate from Al-Lydd – now Lod and part of the state of Israel. Her family were expelled in July 1948 and were forced on an infamous march, in what was part of the single largest population transfer during the Nakba. The family moved to the Al-Jalazone refugee camp where her father was born.