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Palestinian historian Dr. Muhammad Hassan Mahdi emphasized that the Palestinian people need clean leadership that believes in constants and regaining rights through resistance in order to confront initiatives to liquidate the issue.
Mahdi said, in an interview with the Palestinian Information Center, which will be published in full simultaneously: “If we have a leadership that believes in the right of return and in the Palestinian constants through Palestinian resistance, then there is great hope that the return will be a future and real return. For this reason, we must rely on ourselves. If we rely on We were committed to ourselves and were loyal to our cause. Our leadership was loyal to the homeland and believed in the Palestinian constants and believed in the resistance. Then hope for return is renewed, because what was taken by force can only be recovered by force, and thus return becomes very close, but no matter how long the time takes, the return is achieved, God willing.
The professor of the Palestinian issue at a number of universities added: The idea of exchanging lands with the Zionist occupation “is completely and categorically rejected, as no person has the right to concede or give up a single speck of soil from the land of Palestine.”
He asked: “What is land exchange? Do we have lands left to exchange? The settlements after 1993 left us with nothing. What is left of the West Bank?” 11 percent, and this area is divided. What land exchange are they talking about? Who has the right to exchange? There is no person authorized to cede or exchange any inch of the land of Palestine. This word (exchange) is rejected not only by me but by all the Palestinian people, refugees and non-refugees.
Palestinian academic Dr. Muhammad Hassan Mahdi, a writer and historian who specializes in studying and teaching the Palestinian issue. He was born in the Palestinian town of Manshiyya, Iraq, in 1942. He, his grandparents, parents, and relatives were displaced from there, forced and under Zionist aircraft strikes in 1948 AD, ending up in the Arroub camp, west of Hebron.
Through the alleys of the Arroub Palestinian refugee camp and in a room of a modest house, filled with books and academic and honorary certificates, the Palestinian Information Center correspondent sat interviewing and simulating the Palestinian writer and historian Dr. Muhammad Mahdi. The following dialogue took place:
* How old were you on the day of the Nakba, and where did you immigrate from and how?
We were forced to leave our town, Iraq Al-Manshiya. I was six years old at the time, and I still remember the days of my childhood as we played in the village’s alleys, alleys, plains and fields, as if they were in front of me now and will never be erased from my memory. I talk to you with a bitter heartburn and pain in my heart as I remember the scene of us being forced out of our town. Under the bombardment of planes, artillery, and shells that killed many of the people of our town before they left it, and this is what forced us to leave it.
* How did you leave your town at that time?
We went out on foot towards the city of Hebron, carrying our luggage on our backs. My fathers, grandfathers, and uncles were carrying children and the sick elderly on their shoulders, and some food and blankets. Our journey was dangerous for fear of the Zionist gangs that were chasing the immigrants and killing them. We were exposed to death in more than one place during The tragic journey of the Nakba, when the Zionist gangs opened fire on us in an area called (Al-Muqahz). The situation continued until we reached the Al-Arroub area in Hebron Governorate.
* How much impact did this tragic journey have on yourself and your life?
These momentous events implanted in me, from a young age, an insistence on chronicling their events, tragedies, and memories. Therefore, I decided to study history, especially the history of the Palestinian issue. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in history from Alexandria University and completed my graduate studies in Beirut, where I obtained a master’s degree, a doctorate, and other higher diplomas. My academic total is six. Academic certificates, and for my love and passion for studying the history of my case, I devoted myself to studying its history, its transformations, and teaching it to generations. I became a professor of the history of the case at Hebron University, Al-Quds Open University, and the University of Bethlehem. The Islamic University in the Gaza Strip welcomed me, but the refusal of the occupation authorities to give me a permit to enter the Strip prevented me from doing so. .
You served the Palestinian cause by establishing it in the minds of students for forty years in UNRWA schools and institutions, and for nearly twenty years in Palestinian universities, so you were a messenger for the good cause.
* How does Dr. Muhammad Mahdi see the future of Palestinian refugees 65 years after the Nakba?
- The Palestinian refugee, regardless of the exile, the diaspora, and the catastrophe that scattered him throughout the earth, he remained attached to his land, living on the great memories that are still stuck in his mind. There is an emotional relationship between the Palestinian refugee and his land. How could it not, since it is his birthplace and cannot be lived in? That is, one day he will forget it or deviate from it. For this reason, we cling to our homeland and our land, no matter how long it takes and no matter how heavy the sacrifices are. Unfortunately, the weakness of the Arab nation and its lack of interest in the issue, as well as the Islamic world, has led to a state of despair, stagnation and humiliation. However, the will of the Palestinians, especially the refugees among them, has not weakened. Demanding their right to return, this right that cannot be forfeited by statute of limitations. We have gone through all the stages of misery and suffering. Because we insisted on our right to return and not give it up, we are therefore convinced that our right to our homeland and land will not be lost.
* Did the right of return remain constant, or did it become variable?
The right of return will remain constant, and no person, regardless of his position, will be able to give it up, and no one has the right to give up the right of return. It is not a right for one person, but rather a right for a people and entire generations. No matter a person’s position or whatever positions he holds, it is not allowed He has the right to give up the right of return, even if this person represents the Palestinian people.
* What crises do Palestinian refugees suffer from?
- The suffering and crises inside the Palestinian camps and in every place where there are refugees are present and present. The economic situation is very bad and the living conditions are at their worst. Despite all of this, the Palestinian refugee remained steadfast and patient, raising his head to the sky. He believes in his right to his land and his cause. He defends his principles and does not give up on them or give up on them. No one is allowed to ravage it.
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