Palestinian right of return?

Post #23,041 by bluke 1/3/02 5:58:50 PM Reply	Palestinian right of return? This article exposes the myth of the Palestinian right of return once and for all and believe it or not is from the Jordan Times. [link\|http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=760\|Jordan Times on 'Return'] "An interesting article made its way into the Jordan Times this week. It concerned what the PLO calls the "right of return of the Palestinian refugees." That is, the alleged right of Arabs who were made refugees during the Israeli War of Independence to reclaim those lands they fled in 1948. The Jordan Times article, surprisingly, cites the weaknesses of the Arab claim, based on the 1948 UN resolution 194 consistently mentioned by PLO spokespeople. The article explains exactly what elements are included in Un Resolution 194: \ufffdthe establishment of a United Nations Conciliation Commission, the placement of Jerusalem under a permanent international regime and last but not least the "resolve" to give the Palestinian refugees the right to return to their "homes" or receive compensation.\ufffd Thus, argues the Times piece, the demand for the \ufffdright of return\ufffd under the UN would, of necessity, include the internationalization of Jerusalem and its environs, even out as far as Bethlehem. Furthermore, the resolution itself was passed in the UN General Assembly and, as such, has no enforcement mechanism, even were it to have been decided that the resolution must be carried out. Yet the historical fact that the Jordan Times article refers to as "most embarrassing" is that "all the Arab states ...voted against that resolution [194]." Another historical difficulty is that UN Security Council Resolution 242, which is held to be the mandate for land-for-peace Israeli-Arab negotiations since 1967, "said nothing about that resolution [194] when touching about [sic] the Palestinian refugee issue." Resolution 242, the Jordanian piece says, in its call for "achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem," is actually "a far cry from calling for the implementation of Resolution 194."
Post #23,136 by screamer 1/4/02 12:40:29 PM Reply	A good primer on the issue... If one is so inclined, this[link\|http://merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/intro-pal-isr-primer.html\| link] provides a decent (relatively unbiased presentation of the history of the region) starting point. Quoting from this article: The conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Jews is a modern phenomenon, which began around the turn of the 20th century. Although these two groups have different religions (Palestinians include Muslims, Christians and Druze), religious differences are not the cause of the conflict. It is essentially a struggle over land. Until 1948, the area that both groups claimed was known internationally as Palestine. But following the war of 1948-49, this land was divided into three parts: the state of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River) and the Gaza Strip. This is a small area: approximately 10,000 square miles, or about the size of the state of Maryland. The competing claims are not reconcilable if one group exercises exclusive political control over the total territory. Jewish claims to this land are based on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants, on the fact that this was the historical site of the Jewish kingdom of Israel (which was destroyed by the Roman Empire), and on Jews' need for a haven from European anti-Semitism.Palestinian Arabs' claims to the land are based on continuous residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority. They reject the notion that a biblical-era kingdom constitutes the basis for a valid modern claim. If Arabs engage the biblical argument at all, they maintain that since Abraham's son Ishmael is the forefather of the Arabs, then God's promise of the land to the children of Abraham includes Arabs as well. They do not believe that they should forfeit their land to compensate Jews for Europe's crimes against them. Just a few thoughts, Screamer "I'll tip my hat to the new constitution, take a bow for the new revolution, smile and grin at the change all around, pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday..." P. Townshend "Nietzsche has an S in it" Celina Jones
Post #23,289 by mmoffitt 1/6/02 12:10:38 AM Reply	Would that all Americans would read that link. Thank you for posting that. I am continuously amazed at how many Americans think that the "state" of Israel has existed for millenia.
Post #23,296 by boxley 1/6/02 9:21:05 AM Reply	Most Amerikans think the Simpsons is about a real family My Dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be

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