On January 27th, just over a week after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, the Israeli military opened the Netzarim corridor, the checkpoint bisecting the Gaza Strip. In the days that followed, more than half a million Palestinians undertook the long walk from the south to the north. Images of the trek travelled swiftly across the world: After 15 months of forced displacement—during which time Israel attempted to make northern Gaza permanently uninhabitable for Palestians, orchestrating a famine and enacting a brutal military assault—Palestinians were finally returning to their homes en masse. The current of people defiantly flowing north was, for many, a triumphant symbol of Palestinian steadfastness, celebrated across the Palestinian territories and globally as a hopeful portent for the right of return. /…..more