Palestinians must themselves be the agents of their return. Some civil society campaigns are contributing to achieving return, such as the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and legal actions. But for real progress the internal obstacles to return must be addressed, including the lack of a consensus on how to achieve Palestinian self-determination. These are among the key points raised in this roundtable organized by Al-Shabaka’s Policy Circle on Return.

The Mahmoud Abbas who heads to the United Nations for non-member state status expressed willingness to give up his right of return. Not so the other Palestinian millions. Instead, as Al-Shabaka Policy Members Ahmad Barclay and Dena Qaddumi argue, the region’s upsurge in grassroots political movements offers an opening to view Palestinian return through the lens of decolonization and to go beyond the zero-sum logic of competing ethnic nationalisms. They will be launching Al-Shabaka’s first Policy Circle to develop this approach.