The Palestine you don't know

حيث يمكنك أن تجد سببا آخر لتقع في حب فلسطين - جمالها

where you can find another reason to fall in love with Palestine - it’s beauty !

If you have any picture of your family from the era before Nakba and occupation in 1948 , submit it with a caption : describing it , a brief description of your village/city in Palestine as your family told you if you’re a refugee and never had visited your home or how you felt when you came back and saw it for the first time , how do you imagine it …

This month in spotlight :  the era before Nakba . 

first picture : Gaza street scene , Palestine (  Matson Photo Service, Library of Congress/1918-1935)

Second : Gaza’s municipality building. (Institute for Palestine Studies, Photograph Collection /1939-1947 )

Horseman overlooking the village of Daburiyyah on the slopes of Mount Tabor, Galilee , Palestine . ( R: Khalil Raad collection/ 1876-1918)

Horseman overlooking the village of Daburiyyah on the slopes of Mount Tabor, Galilee , Palestine . ( R: Khalil Raad collection/ 1876-1918)

Anonymous asked: As a gay , is it better to live in Palestine or in israel ?

The Basic Law of the Palestinian Constitution guarantee “freedom of bodily integrity and freedom from discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, colour, religion, political views, or disability.” 

Society is complicated everywhere , true gays face racism but this also is worldwide thing . In israel which is accused of touting gay rights in order to downplay its alleged oppression of the Palestinians and to fix the image of it as a criminal Apartheid state , israel is trying to mask the occupation by the gay tourism initiative . Plus , racism is a major thing that you will find and not only because you’re gay but also as a not Jewish israeli person .

When living in a society , you have to live among its traditions and respect it . Palestinian society is  conservative . That’s a fact that we can’t deny . So, for gay or not you have to be careful about your public actions . At the same time , Palestinians take in consider the fact that you as a foreigner have lived in a different environment  .

jannatulfirdous asked: This blog is absolutely amazing!!! Please never ever ever delete this blog because it's soo helpful and is really the best source for anyone wanting to know about Palestine! You've done an outstanding job!!!

Thank you ! I don’t post as much as before because I have exams .

indo-pak asked: Hey! I just wanted to tell you that I love this blog and I think you should turn this blog into a book!

 I truly appreciate this , keep following !

Iqrit , a village in the Acre District . The village was destroyed by israeli forces during Nakba .

The first picture shows the village Before Destruction in 1935 and the second one shows it in 1990 .

Today : According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi, the village remaining structures on the village land are: 
“The only extant landmark is the Greek Catholic church a stone structure with a flat roof from which a rectangular belfry rises. It has a rectangular doorway with a decorative round arch and carvings atop the lintel.”

(more about Iqrit , pictures were Scanned from “All That Remains” by Dr. Walid Khalidi)

Return is the dream of generations. It’s my dream, the dream of my family, people and country. We must be united to make it true . The refugee camp reminds me everyday that I am a refugee and I will not stay here forever . Dalia Abu Aker, a 16-year old descendant of a refugee from Ras Abu Amar village, to the west of Jerusalem, who resides with her family in the West Bank refugee camp of Aldihishi.(x)