They are killing my people. My family. My homeland.

I am the granddaughter of Nakba survivors. In 1948, my grandparents were expelled from Lydd, Historic Palestine, along with 80 per cent of its people by Israeli militias. My father grew up in a refugee camp, no home, no stability, only the dream of return. I grew up with their stories, and I grew up watching Israel’s ongoing crimes: the occupation of the West Bank, the siege of Gaza, the ethnic cleansing of villages across Palestine. I never needed a state to tell me I was Palestinian or grant me my self-determination. We did that ourselves by keeping our struggle alive.

Amal Naser, centre, with fellow Harbour Bridge protest organiser and Palestinian Action Group member Josh Lees, and NSW Green Jenny Leong.Credit: Wolter Peeters

Witnessing these injustices gave me the determination and stamina to fight for my homeland. For years, I have witnessed institutions of power fail us, allow crime after crime to occur against the Palestinian people with full impunity. I knew it was us, the people, the masses, who could end this torture.

For nearly two years, I have organised weekly rallies with the Palestine Action Group to stop what Amnesty International, B’Tselem (the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights) and the

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