Israel And The Palestinian Refugees

This book offers diverse perspectives on the Palestinian refugee problem and the possible ways to facilitate its resolution. It contains contributions of Israeli, Palestinian and other scholars, and its main goal is to initiate an informed dialogue that will bridge the "knowledge gap" between the different camps. The book provides a comprehensive picture of the various aspects of the problem and of the possible means of its resolution.

Examining the development of Israel’s policy toward the Palestinian refugee issue, this book spans the period following the first Arab-Israeli War until the mid-1950s, when the basic principles of Israel’s policy were finalized. Israel and the Palestinian Refugee Issue outlines and analyzes the various aspects that, together, created the mosaic of the "refugee problem" with which Israel has since had to contend. These aspects include issues of repatriation, resettlement, compensation, blocked bank accounts, internal refugees and family reunification. Drawing on extensive archival research, this book uses documents from Israeli government meetings, from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and files from the office of the Prime Minister’s advisor on Arab affairs to address the many diverse aspects of this topic, and will be essential reading for academics and researchers with an interest in Israel, the Middle East, and political science more broadly.

Analyses Israeli policies towards Palestinian refugees from 1948 to the present.

Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, a provocative and timely new book by Syracuse University international law professor Donna E. Arzt, offers an unprecedented blueprint for resolving what is often called the "last taboo" in the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations: a just and permanent solution to the problem of over three million Palestinian refugees. This book represents the first comprehensive effort to place the inclusion and dignity of Palestinian refugees at the core of creating viable and lasting peace in the region. Arzt blends traditional academic scholarship with a practical policy prescription: the end of the Middle East conflict can only be achieved when all Palestinian refugees are offered dual citizenship, compensation for lost property, and/or voluntary absorption options in either a future state of Palestine, other Arab states in the region, the broader international community, or on family reunification grounds, repatriation in Israel. Arzt argues that compensation should be based on a "no fault" assumption, and that all involved parties share equal responsibility for refugee absorption.

As violence escalates in the Middle East, a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine seems more elusive than ever. Yet one thing remains clear: without constructive dialogue such an agreement cannot occur. This timely volume presents just such a dialogue. It brings together opinions, perspectives, and research focused on one of the region’s most complex and volatile problems: the Palestinian refugee situation. Based on a 1999 conference at the University of Oklahoma International Program Center, Palestinian Refugees combines contributions from Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Americans, and Europeans. In addition to focusing on the Palestinian refugees, the essays present various proposals for solving the Palestinian problem. Organized in two parts, the volume presents both scholarly essays and position papers. The scholarly essays place current issues in historical context and explore the Palestinian belief in the "right of return" and questions of appropriate compensation. The position papers focus on policy and offer a variety of perspectives. Concluding the volume is a special essay on public polls that gauge how Palestinians and Israelis view the circumstances of Palestinian refugees and what they feel about possible solutions.

One of the core aspects of the Palestinian refugee question is that of compensation or reparations for Palestinian refugees forcibly displaced by the establishment of Israel.Despite the importance of the issue, many of the complex technical issues compensation would entail have not received adequate attention. In this volume, a rich variety of contributors – including Palestinian, Israeli, and international scholars, analysts, and former officials – examine the topic from an array of legal, economic, and political perspectives. In doing so, they cast new and important light on the way the issue has been approached in past negotiations, the structure of possible compensation regimes and potential challenges and obstacles to implementation.

The Palestinian refugee question, resulting from the events surrounding the birth of the state of Israel seventy years ago, remains one of the largest and most protracted refugee crises of the post-WWII era. Numbering over six million in the Middle East alone, Palestinian refugees' status varies considerably according to the state or territory 'hosting' them, the UN agency assisting them and political circumstances surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict these refugees are naturally associated with. Despite being foundational to both the experience of the Palestinian refugees and the resolution of their plight, international law is often side-lined in political discussions concerning their fate. This compelling new book, building on the seminal contribution of the first edition (1998), offers a clear and comprehensive analysis of various areas of international law (including refugee law, human rights law, humanitarian law, the law relating to stateless persons, principles related to internally displaced persons, as well as notions of international criminal law), and probes their relevance to the provision of international protection for Palestinian refugees and their quest for durable solutions.

Encompassing history, politics, and political culture, Bowker grapples with fundamental issues of Palestinian identity in the context of the peace process.