Bonsoir | يسعد مساكم: We Shall Return (Palestinian Refugees Factsheet)

Palestinian Refugees

We Shall Return ...The Sacred Right

Palestinians have experienced several periods of major displacement, beginning in 1947-48 war (during which Jewish terrorist groups committed 34 massacres, killed around 13,000 Palestinian, and over 750,000 were forced out of their homeland), followed by a second major displacement in the 1967 war. Additional displacement has resulted from Israeli government policies and practices inside Israel and in the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories, including land confiscation, house demolition, revocation of residency status, and deportation.

The Palestinian Refugees is the largest and one of the longest standing unresolved refugee cases in the world today. The state of Israel opposes the return of Palestinian refugees based on the desire to maintain Israel as a ''Jewish state'' characterised by a solid demographic Jewish majority and Jewish control of the land.

Palestinian facilities and private properties such as schools, hospitals, houses and lands confiscated by the Israeli government as "state property'' since 1948 have been allocated for Jewish use only. New settlements throughout Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are built on the remains of the destroyed villages and on land previously owned by Palestinians.

Current Facts

Today there are over 5 million Palestinian refugees throughout the world. There are about 3.5 million Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). 33% live in 59 UNRWA refugee camps and 67% are scattered throughout various countries.

The "Right of Return''

The right of return for Palestinian refugees has been continually upheld by a number of UN resolutions. UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) of December 1948 declares 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."
The refugee issue is one of the most important outstanding issues. So far, no progress has been made due to Israel's denial of its responsibility for the refugee situation.
Israel opposes basing any negotiations on the principles of Resolution 194 and has said "No to the right of return'' since 1948.

Violation of International Law

International law demands that neither occupation nor sovereignty diminish the rights of ownership. Therefore, the land and property of Palestinian refugees remains their own and they are legally entitled to return to it.

UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (1) states that refugees and their descendants have a right to compensation and repatriation to their original homes and land due to "loss of or damage to property, which, under principles of international law or in equity should be made good by the government or authorities responsible''
The Principle of Self Determination, adopted by the UN in 1947, guarantees the right to ownership and domicile in one's own country. This principle was explicitly applied in 1969 and thereafter to the Palestinian people, including "the legality of the People's struggle for self determination and liberation.''
The Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 49) prohibits "individual or mass forcible transfers...regardless of their motives'' and calls for evacuated persons to be "transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area of question have ceased."
Article 13 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reaffirms the right of every individual to leave and return to his own country.
The denial of the right of return for Palestinian Arabs is a breach of Article 2 and Article 5(d) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Israel remains in violation of Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country."
UN General Assembly Resolution 3236 (1974), subsection 2, upholds the rights of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property.
UN General Assembly Resolution 52/62 (1997) reaffirms that Palestinian refugees are entitled to their property and the income derived from it.

We call upon everyone to pressure Israel to respect the right of return of all Palestinian refugees.

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And finally, I'll take this chance to share with you my favourite

Oh My Brave Hearts (or "We Will Return") By Chris De Burgh Enjoy it!