March of Return (Israel)

This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.The March of Return (Arabic: مسيرة العودة, romanized: Masīrat al-ʻAwdah) is an annual protest march in Israel organized by the Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced (ADRID), also known as the Committee of the Uprooted,[1] which represents the "Present absentees", i.e. the Palestinian citizens of Israel who are internally displaced.

[2][3] The march traces its origins to the early 1980s when hundreds of Palestinian Israelis marched to commemorate their expulsion from Kafr Bir'im, gradually institutionalizing the practice of private family visits to destroyed villages.

[3] The Committee of the Uprooted first organized a Land Day rally in the depopulated village of Al-Ghabisiyya in 1995.

Efforts include discipline in protest expressions, careful route planning to avoid conflicts with Jewish localities, and refraining from marching to certain villages.

Jewish participation, including speakers and organizational involvement, has been consistently maintained, though it remains a largely Palestinian-led initiative.