Palestinian Return Centre

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) is a UK-based advocacy organization established in 1996 in London. It describes itself as an “independent consultancy focusing on the historical, political and legal aspects of the Palestinian Refugees.”

The centre specializes in the research and analysis of issues concerning the Palestinians who were forced out of the State of Israel after the implementation of the Oslo Accords and advocates “their internationally recognized legal right to return.”

On December 5, 2010 the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement that outlawed the centre for “unlawful association”, claiming that the PRC was part of Hamas.

Aims

The Palestinian Return Centre frames the problematic situation of the Palestinian Refugees in relation to the “Nakba” or “catastrophe”, as it describes the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the resulting displacement of Palestinians. The issue of the Palestinian refugees’ return to Palestine is in fact at the center of the PRC’s activities “both as a humanitarian and political concern.”

According to its website, the PRC aims to preserve the Palestinian identity and explicitly encourages resistance to any attempt to resettle the Palestinians in their places of refuge. In fact, the PRC coordinates with other organizations that support the realization of Palestinian national aspirations.

The organization intends to “increase and widen awareness of the suffering of the Palestinians in the Diaspora” and to inform the general public in Europe and Britain in particular about the “truth on the many different dimensions of the Palestinian issue.”

Moreover, the organization endeavors to “establish the status of Palestinian refugees under international law without any equivocation, and campaign for their basic human and legal rights.”

Activities

The PRC organizes a wide range of events to promote the Palestinian cause both in the United Kingdom and in Europe.

Among the most recent initiatives sponsored by the Palestinian Return Centre are a public seminar in the House of Lords held in June 2015, a public briefing in the House of Parliament in June 2015, and a workshop to support Palestinian refugees in Syria.

In September 2015, the PRC organized an event to encourage public debate on the challenges facing the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), an organization overtly supported by the Centre.

The PRC also produces videos and disseminates articles, books, reports and studies in support of its mission.

Funding

Information about the Palestinian Return Centre’s sources of funding is not available. In this connection, the NGO Monitor emphasizes the “lack of transparency and accountability” of the PRC.

Based on the PRC website, the organization “depends primarily on donations from people who believe in its cause” and “accepts contributions in money and kind from any source as long as there are no strings or conditions attached.”

Anti-semitic and extremist tones

The activities and publications sponsored by the Palestinian Return Centre often assume anti-Semitic tones.

In reaction to an article published in December 2013, the PRC denounced the “Zionist terror,” the “ongoing genocide on Palestine” as well as the “brutality of the Israeli Army and the heartlessness of its soldiers who seem to have a thirst for blood.”

The organization regularly points out the alleged “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” implemented by Israel’s authorities against Palestinians.

The Palestinian Return Centre has also encouraged Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel.

The organization is listed as an official supporter of the Free Palestine Movement founded by Paul Larudee, who has strong ties to the U.S.-terrorist designated Hamas and promotes anti-Semitic themes and initiatives.

International recognition

On June 1, 2015 the Palestinian Return Centre was among the 10 groups recommended by the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. The PRC obtained special consultative status with 12 votes in favour, 3 against (Israel, United States and Uruguay) and 3 abstentions (Greece, India, Russian Federation) and one absent member (Burundi).

Israel voted against the motion based on the PRC’s “known links to terrorism” and affiliation to Hamas. However, the PRC denied all charges and launched legal action against Israel’s UN mission over its defamatory accusations before the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.

Despite Israel’s objection, on July 20, 2015 the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved the recommendation.

Terrorist allegations

The PRC claims that it is not affiliated with any Palestinian faction in particular, yet its connections with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood – Hamas’ parent movement - seem solid based on both the level of personal ties between prominent representatives of the organizations and the coordination of operational efforts.

A report published by The Telegraph in February 2015 pointed out that the Palestinian Return Centre is based in Crown House, one of the two buildings in West London which host a considerable number of organizations and front businesses affiliated with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Telegraph’s article defines the PRC as “the Brotherhood campaign group with the closest links to mainstream politics.” According to that report, the PRC shares directors with the Muslim Association of Britain, “the Brotherhood’s main declared British affiliate.”

The PRC has strong ties with several organizations based between Crown House and the Westgate Building, as emphasized by The Telegraph’s article. Ghassan Faour, one of the two directors of the Palestinian Return Centre since 2011, is a trustee of Interpal, a key member of the Union of Good, an umbrella organization including over 50 charities which funnels money to Hamas.

Among the PRC’s senior representatives is Arafat Madi, also known as Arafat Madi Shoukri, the PRC’s former Executive Director, who is currently the chairman of European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG). ECESG is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and is also one of the main sponsors of the Gaza flotilla movement. In fact, the organization participated in dispatching the Mavi Marmara flotilla. In general, both ECESG and Viva Palestina, whose spokesperson, Zaher Birawi, is another PRC’s prominent trustee, have helped sending convoys and flotillas to “strengthen the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip.”  

Zaher Birawi is also a trustee of Education Aid for Palestine (EAP), a member organization of the Union of Good. According to a 2011 report by The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Birawi has been the head of programming for al-Hiwar TV, founded by the Islamist academic and UK Muslim Brotherhood leader Azzam al-Tamimi.

The Palestinian Return Centre is listed among the affiliated organizations of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which frequently coordinates its initiatives with other Muslim Brotherhood organizations in the UK.

In December 2010, a statement issued by the Israeli government outlawed the PRC claiming that the Palestinian Return Centre was a coordinating arm of the Hamas movement in Europe and that its activists – supposedly senior Hamas figures – were actively promoting Hamas agenda in Europe and reinforcing Hamas’ international network.

Hamas leaders and senior affiliates have regularly attended the PRC annual conferences over the last decade. In particular, the event organized by the PRC in Sweden in May 2006 entitled “Fourth Palestinians in Europe Conference” featured the Palestinian Authority’s then-Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh representing Hamas among its speakers.