be developed to put an end to the ongoing displacement as well as to achieve a durable solution. While many individuals and organizations have discussed the triggers of forced population transfer, civil society lacks an overall analysis of the system of forced displacement that continues to oppress and disenfranchise Palestinians today. BADIL, therefore, spearheads targeted research on forced population transfer and produces critical advocacy and scholarly materials to help bridge this analytical gap. Forced Population Transfer The concept of forced population transfer – and recognition of the need to tackle its inherent injustice – is by no means a new phenomenon, nor is it unique to Mandate Palestine. Concerted efforts to colonize foreign soil have underpinned displacement for millennia, and the “unacceptability of the acquisition of territory by force and the often concomitant practice of population transfer” was identified by the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great, and subsequently codified in the Cyrus Cylinder in 539 B.C.; the first known human rights charter. Almost two thousand years later, during the Christian epoch, European powers employed population transfer as a means of conquest, with pertinent examples including the Anglo-Saxon displacement of indigenous Celtic peoples, and the Spanish Inquisition forcing the transfer of religious minorities from their homes in the early 16th century. Today, the forcible transfer of protected persons by physical force or threats or coercion constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The forcible displacement of individuals without grounds permitted under international law is a very serious violation, and when those affected belong to a minority or ethnic pargroup and the policies of forcible displacement are systematic and widespread, these practices could amount to crimes against humanity. International law sets clear rules to prohibit forced population transfer, through the specific branches of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international criminal law and international refugee law. Both internal (within an internationally recognized border) and external displacement are regulated. BADIL presents this series of working papers in a concise and accessible manner to its designated audiences: from academics and policy makers, to activists and the general public. Generally, the series contributes to improving the understanding of the ongoing ‘nakba’ of the Palestinian people and the 6