Right of Return

14May08

I thought this was a really strong opinion piece of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian refugees who have lived away from their homes for 60 years have established themselves elsewhere. Few have a sincere desire to live in today’s Israel. Respected Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki found in 2003 that only 10 percent of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were willing to move to the areas that today constitute Israel.

What Palestinians want is for Israel to admit its historic and moral role in creating the refugee problem and its moral responsibility to them. Such an admission by a courageous Israeli leader would satisfy, and neutralize, many Palestinians who hold their keys and demand the literal right of return. As part of a bilateral agreement, surely Israel would allow divided Palestinian families to reunite with relatives who stayed in what became Israel after 1948.

I don’t have a lot to add, but I did always think that the oft asserted position that Palestinian right of return was somehow an illegitimate was preposterous. I mean there are some people that can show you the keys to their houses they were forced to abandon, what’s illegitimate about wanting to return? The flip side is that right of return, while being a legitimate desire, is largely politically unrealistic and not particularly important to everyday Palestinians.

Filed under: International, Politics   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine, Palestinian Statehood, Right of return