The Right of Return of Palestinian Refugees
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In 1948 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 on the Question of Palestine, which "resolves that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return..."
Today there are more than 3.7 million Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps throughout the Middle East and many more exiles worldwide. Their right of return is clearly and unambiguously guaranteed by international law under the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The refugees have a claim to citizenship, financial settlement and, in some cases, return to former homes and property in what is today Israel. The government of Israel, however, opposes Palestian immigration, in order to maintain the Jewish character of the state. Whatever the details of any future agreement, a lasting and effective settlement must find a solution for Palestinian refugees that recognizes and accommodates their "right of return" and their claim to full citizenship in a state they can call home.
Palestinian Negotiating Paper on Refugees (January 22, 2001)
Israeli Negotiating Paper on Refugees (January 23, 2001)
This resolution calls on a Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of Palestinian refugees in Israel.
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
The Palestinians' Right of Return (Winter, 2001)
Full Text of the National Conciliation Document of the Prisoners (June 28, 2006)
To end division between their various factions and to establish a common front, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails produced this "National Conciliation Document." It seeks to secure the right of return for refugees, calling on the "international community" to implement UN General Assembly Resolution 194 that resolved that refugees should be able to return to their homes at the earliest moment and should receive compensation by the "governments or authorities responsible." (Translation by Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre)
Disengagement and the Politics of Post-National Realism (August 17, 2005)
The Gaza disengagement is a "smokescreen" for freezing the peace process, and the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict will intensify instead of pacify racial injustice, contends ZNet. Additionally, the author says Palestinian right of return must include authority over laws and allow for Palestinian cultural identity to flourish. This "fundamental change in the political orientation" of the Palestinian solidarity movement, aligning it more with the successful South African anti-apartheid movement, may be "the only viable alternative to either the cultural death of the Palestinian people or a repeat of the catastrophe that befell them in the war of 1948."
Abbas to Declare Not All Refugees to Return to Israel (March 15, 2005)
At a meeting in Cairo, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will announce that not all refugees will be able to return to their former homes in Israel and the Occupied Territories. According to Palestinian sources, Abbas will forego the collective right of return for all refugees "to strengthen the Palestinians' position with regard to other final-status issues such as Jerusalem, the prisoners and the settlements." (Haaretz)
Why a 'Right of Return' Is Necessary (September 27, 2004)
International law and previous UN resolutions all protect the Palestinian refugee right of return. This article asserts that "refugeehood" is a "fundamental aspect" of Palestinian identity, and calls the refugee issue "essential" to any settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The author argues that Israel and the international community cannot consider the status of refugees secondary to the peace process and that there will be "no solution to the land issue without coupling it with the refugee issue." (Bitterlemons)