02 · Miftāḥ

Between December 1947 and 1949 roughly 700,000–750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled and were not allowed to return; the UN Conciliation Commission put the number at 726,000 [1]. Many families locked their doors and took the key.

On 11 December 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 194. Its paragraph 11 resolves that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date [2]. The resolution has been reaffirmed every year since, and the key became its emblem [3].

About seventy per cent of Gaza's pre-war population are registered refugees of 1948 [4]. Since October 2023 around ninety per cent of Gaza's people have been displaced, most more than once, and most now live in tents or damaged buildings [5].

The drawing is two lines and a flap for a tent, a nail, a cord, and the key. Two dates, one at each end. The tent is never closed; the key is drawn as a key and nothing else.

For every T-shirt sold, FREE PALESTINE MEDIA S.R.L. gives €5 to a medical charity working in Gaza and the West Bank — named here once the written agreement is signed. The €5 is given by us from our own revenue; it is not a payment by you to the charity and is not tax-deductible for you. Transfers are made monthly and published on the ledger.