Thirty Years on from the massacre at Sabra and Shatilla, when up to 3,500 Palestinians along with Shi’ite Lebanese, were killed, many Palestinians feel little has changed. Palestine is, as that camp was, surrounded by the Israeli authorities. Palestinians live under what anti-apartheid South African activist and Nobel Peace Prizewinner, Desmond Tutu, has called an apartheid system.

With the Palestinian Diaspora scattered throughout the world, Palestinians face daily humiliation. Dispossessed, with the United States threatening to veto UN resolutions on statehood and facing daily humiliation, many are denied entry when they wish to visit their homeland. Amongst those denied entry last year was Mr Yazan Abu Jbara, a PHD student. He is not alone. In August 2O12, an estimated 150 Europeans were denied access to Israel many of them Palestinian. Despite public pledges from Israeli Deputy, Alon Roth Snir, that Palestinian-British citizen, Abu Jbara would be admitted, on June 15 this year, he was again denied access to Israel.

Abu Jbara’s family left Palestine in 1948 moving to the West Bank and moving again in 1967 following Israel’s invasion. Like many Palestinian refugees the family moved to Jordan where Abu Jbara was born. He says that in addition to the keys to the family home, his relatives also own Ottoman, British and Palestinian title deeds but ‘now we are living in other peoples’ countries subject to continuous harassment and change of laws’.

Abu Jbara has a great affection for Britain having studied and worked in the UK for a decade. He says that he regards the UK as his second home but remains proudly Palestinian. “Every single morning the first thing that comes to my mind is Palestine. It comes to my mind four or five times a day.”

Allowed to visit Palestine in August 2008, August 2009 and September 2010, he was denied entry in August 2011. Despite Israeli Deputy, Alon Roth Snir public having pledged to guarantee Abu Jbara was granted reentry, he was again refused entry in June 2012.

The process was a humiliating one. Israeli security asked why he had to come to Israel when this was not his home. One of the people told him “neither you nor your sons nor your grandsons will enter Israel, go and be a tourist in Thailand or London. They say London, is the city of love, no?” They also asked if he regarded himself as British or Palestinian, continuing “this is the home of Israel, and Israel decides who enters their home, you decide who enters your home don't you?

Mr Abu Jbara affirms that the whole process is designed to engender a feeling of powerlessness and is intended to build despair. Offering his condolences for Mr Abu Jbara’s denial of entry, the Israeli Deputy explained that if Mr Abu Jbara, sent the details of his inbound flight, he would guarantee his entry. Using his first name, Alon, in the correspondence, he even reflected, “We will still sit for a coffee in Tel Aviv one day, I am sure!”

Following the public pledge made at Bristol University in front of postgraduate students and many prominent academics such as Dr Vernon Hewitt, Dr Ryerson Christie and Professor Jutta Weldes, Mr Abu Jbara’s Supervisor, Dr Vernon Hewitt, emailed the deputy. After, Mr Abu Jbara asked about visa requirements, the once cordial Deputy Snir became reticent saying he should seek the permission of family members resident in Palestine. Abu Jbara had no such family members. Deputy Snir then became evasive, weeks elapsed between his emails, he reiterated the same questions or explained that he was still at work. Mr Abu Jbara came to suspect that Deputy Snir was not inclined to resolve his problems.

From experience, Mr Abu Jbara knew the risk of possible interrogations and security checks. When he was detained at General Allenby's bridge in 2011, he was asked, “do you pray?” There had been what seemed like a ton door-slamming, flags everywhere and in large Arabic letters, “Welcome to Israel”.

Yet having followed exactly the protocol recommended by Deputy Snir, he was confident he would be allowed to attend conferences to which he was invited. Given Deputy Snir’s consequent avoidance this was perhaps a false confidence. However, as Abu Jbara says there is an Arabic proverb that reads, “the drowning person will hold to straw”, Abu Jbara remained confident that he would be readmitted. Although, he later felt like a criminal despite never having had a criminal record in any of the countries he had lived: Italy, Jordan, Spain and the UK.

Abu Jbara hoped to go to the Palestinian National Authority’s, Ministry of Wakf and Religious Affairs in Ramallah. There he would deliver the paper he had worked on for months; the one he had been invited to read. Next, he would attend the Association of Israeli Studies in Haifa, Israel.

He did not inform his mother beforehand as ‘I know my mother might have had a heart-attack if she lost touch with me while I was imprisoned, however, I was planning to surprise her and call her shortly after arrival to tell her “oh, listen I am in Jerusalem.” I told my uncle and a friend in case I didn't come back so they know where I am.’

Despite Israeli Deputy promises of readmitance on the 15 June Abu Jbara was again denied entry. He alleges that this was predetermined. They took fingerprints. He was imprisoned overnight in a cell with dirty sheets and kept under constant surveillance. He read the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” that was written on the wall and wrote his own name on the side of the bed. He wanted to contact his mother to tell her that he was going back to London and explain what had happened but was not allowed. After a sleepless night and being denied food for 12 hrs, he was tired and hungry as he boarded the plane for London.

It is difficult to imagine how painful it must have been for Abu Jbara “coming all the way from London, landing in my own country and being taken straight to a cell, feeling the humidity of the sea, breathing the air of my country, not able to see 200 yards.”

When he contacted the British Embassy, they refused to help. He reflects, “if I had been detained in Iran would it be the same?” They explained that the reason for denying him entry was because some unspecified person in his family was a criminal. He searched his mind frantically trying to imagine who this person could be but the only person he could think of was his 85 year old Uncle. In the 1950s his Uncle had been imprisoned in Jordan for being a Communist.

Another guard asserted “but you (his family) still have lands here, haven't you?” Mr Abu Jbara explained that they owned land in what was “Someul” and has become Ramat-Aviv. The guard then asked “why don't you want to sell? It is the expensive area of Tel-Aviv." Mr Abu Jbara did not answer. But he says that he felt that their overriding interest was in the land of his parents and grandparents so they could tell the world "look! I bought it and they sold." It was as if they were prepared to allow him entry for one more time so that he could sell the land and then he would be denied entry again.

Mr Abu Jbara says that he feels Israelis are unaware of the land’s true value. “They offer money for land that others will happily sacrifice their lives to liberate”. His father and his uncles could have sold the land but were prepared to live poorly in exile asking how could their children ever forgive them if they sold. He says that a Palestinian proverb reads " not by bread alone, human survive"

Mr Abu Jbara believes the real reason behind his immediate deportation was that he had participated in a successful occupation at the University of the West of England to secure a Conflict Zone Bursary, a £45,000 full scholarship for Gazan students. He explains, that he aspires to champion”the real people behind the politics who are in intolerable situations and experiencing unimaginable suffering."

He also participated in a poetry event to raise awareness. Mr Abu Jbara had intended to visit Palestine for a week or so in summer for the spiritual feeling he gained and perhaps accept an invitation at an academic conference occasionally to kind of 'live and let live'. Mr Abu Jbara asks “why should they deny me entry for taking part in a poetry event or for organizing a scholarship?”

Asked if he had any advice for other Palestinians in his position Abu Jbara answered ‘Don't despair, tell the world these little details. Do your duty’.