A. Status of the Palestinians as Refugees: 1948—2003
In late November 1947, serious conflict erupted when the Palestinians rose in arms against U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181 partitioning Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state Iwhich divided Palestine into two states and allotted a majority of the land in mandatory Palestine to the Jewish state despite the Jews’ smaller numbers and significantly lower rate of landownership.
Conditions escalated to a full-scale war in May 1948, after the British withdrew from Palestine and Israel declared its independence. ∣As a result, an estimated 700,000 Arab Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, becoming refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, neighboring Arab states, and beyond.In 1949, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 302, which established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) with the mandate to provide humanitarian aid to displaced Palestinians. Reports issued by UNRWA describe the living conditions and human rights situation faced by Palestinians as refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and in Israeli-controlled territory.
Following the 1948 war, Israel enacted several national laws that legalized the expropriation of Arab land and property and in effect blocked the return of Palestinian refugees to Palestine: the Emergency Land Requisition (Regulation) Law (1949), the Law of Return (1950), the Absentees’ Property Law (1950), the Land Acquisition (Validation of Acts and Compensation) Law (1953), and the Prevention of Infiltration (Offences and Jurisdiction) Law (1954).
Despite demands from the United Nations that Israel allow refugees to return in accordance with the right of everyone to leave and to return to his/her home state or territory as prescribed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Israel has refused to recognize this right.
The issue of Palestinians’ right of return remains unresolved and is a major point of contention in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.Other documents on related subjects may be found in: Section 3, Arab-Israeli Wars; and Section 7, Israeli-Palestinian-Peace Process.
Document 502: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 212, Assistance to Palestine Refugees (November 19, 1948) [G.A. Res. 212, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/RES/212 (III) (1948)]. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 212 urges all state members to make voluntary contributions to provide needed relief to Palestine refugees. It also authorizes the Secretary-General to establish a special fund into which contributions could be collected. It requests that the Secretary-General appoint a director of United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees to oversee the planning and implementation of the relief program.
Document 503: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, Right of Return and Creation of a Conciliation Commission for Palestine (December 11, 1948) [S.C. Res. 194, U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess., 186th plen. mtg. at 21-25, U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948)]. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 establishes the Conciliation Commission for Palestine to be comprised of delegates from France, Turkey, and the United States and grants it the functions of the United Nations mediator for Palestine. It also 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 compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return. This is the first and most important United Nations resolution addressing Palestinian refugee rights. Resolution 194 also reaffirms the principle of internationalization ofJerusalem.
Document 504: Letter from Dr. Walter Eytan, Head of the Israeli Delegation, to the Chairman of the Conciliation Commission (May 7, 1949) [available at http://domino. un.org/pdfs/AAC25IS15.pdf].
In his letter to the chairman of the Conciliation Commission, Dr. Walter Eytan, the head of the Israeli delegation, states that Israel would be prepared to consider a plan for the reunion of families whose members were separated as a result of fighting. However, he stresses that family members to be reunited must be “genuine relatives of a close degree of consanguity.” Eytan further states that Israel would be prepared to collect information from Arab residents in Israel concerning relatives of theirs who became refugees and who wish and are eligible to apply for repatriation.Document 505: Law of the State of Israel: Emergency Land Requisition (Regulation) Law (November14, 1949) [4 LSI 3, (1949-50)]. This law permits Israeli authorities to order the requisition of any type of owned property. Once a requisition order is put into effect, the original owner of the home or business is to be forced to surrender his or her home or business to the person specified in the requisition order. The law applies retrospectively to any person who has occupied the property before the law went into effect and also applies to citizens who forcefully enter a home under a billet order. The law authorizes the Israeli government to use force to carry out any order under this law.
Document 506: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302, Establishing the UNRWA for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (December 8, 1949) [G.A. Res. 302, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/RES/302 (1949)]. This General Assembly Resolution creates the UNRWA to address the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees outside Israel.
Document 507: Law of the State of Israel: Absentees’ Property Law (March 14, 1950) [S.H. 86, reprinted in 4 Laws of Israel 68-82]. This law establishes the Custodianship Council for Absentee’s Property and empowers that office with wide-ranging controls over absentees’ property, effectively transferring ownership of property from absentee owners to the State of Israel. This law defines an “absentee” as anyone who, from November 29, 1947, to May 19, 1948, has ceased to exist, has relocated to his or her homeland, or was a Palestinian citizen and left his or her ordinary place of residence in Palestine.
The law also applies to those refugees who chose to remain inside Israel. Consequently, the law vests within the custodian the possession of all property and property rights in businesses, homes, and farms abandoned by those fleeing the conflict or the property Arab nationals of another state. Additionally, the custodian is granted the right to liquidate or demolish any property given to the Custodianship Council. The law allows no possibility for an absentee to claim that they were forced to abandon the property and stipulates that an absentee will be forced to pay remuneration in addition to any expenses incurred by the custodian in carrying out the law.Document 508: United States: United Nations Palestine Refugee Aid Act of1950: Title III of Public Law 535 (June 5, 1950) [64 Stat. 203, repealed by Act of Aug. 26, 1954, ch. 937, title V, § 542 (a)(6), 68 Stat. 861]. The Palestine Refugee Aid Act authorizes the U.S. Secretary of State to make contributions to the UNRWA for a period of one year. It stipulates that contributions are not to exceed $27.45 million.
Document 509: Law of the State of Israel: Law of Return (July 5, 1950) [4 LSI 114 (1950)]. OnJuly 5, 1950, the Knesset unanimously adopted the Law of Return, giving Jews throughout the world the right to immigrate to Israel. The 1970 amendment accords the right to immigrate to Israel to those non-Jews who are either children or grandchildren of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, or the spouse of a child or grandchild of a Jew on the condition that the person was not previously a Jew who knowingly converted to another faith. Subsequently, some 700,000 Jewish immigrants immigrated to Israel from Eastern and Central Europe and later from Yemen, Iraq, and Morocco.
Document 510: United Nations Security Council Resolution 89, Pledging to Look into Allegations of Expulsion of Arabs and Suggesting the Movement of Bedouins Be Controlled (November 17, 1950) [S.C. Res. 89, U.N. SCOR, 524th mtg., U.N. Doc. S/1907 (1950)].
United Nations Security Council Resolution 89 authorizes the chief of staff of the UNTSO to recommend to Israel, Egypt, and other Arab states steps needed to control the movement of nomadic Arabs across international frontiers or armistice lines by mutual agreement. It also calls upon these governments to stop transferring persons across international frontiers or armistice lines without prior consultation through the Mixed Armistice Commissions.Document 511: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 393, Authorizing the Agency to Continue to Furnish Direct Relief to Refugees (December 2, 1950) [G.A. Res. 393, U.N. GAOR, 5th Sess., Supp. No. 20, at 22-23, U.N. Doc. A/1775 (1950)]. With Resolution 393, the General Assembly notes that United Nations member states had not yet made sufficient contributions to the UNRWA to accomplish its humanitarian mission. It states that repatriation or resettlement of refugees in Israel is essential and, in extending the mandate, makes funds available for the following year.
Document 512: Law of the State of Israel: State Property Law (February 6, 1951) [5 Laws of Israel 45-48]. This Israeli law grants any property or property rights owned by Palestinian authorities or any ownerless property within Israel to the Israeli government. This law also sets regulations over government land transactions.
Document 513: Progress Report ofthe United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (November 20, 1951) [U.N. GAOR, 6th Sess., Supp. No. 18, U.N. Doc. A/1985 (1951)]. The United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine presented this progress report detailing its activities between January 23 and July 15, 1951. The Conciliation Commission’s main concern during this period was the preparation of the newly constructed Refugee Office in Jerusalem and the arrival of its director, Mr. Holger Anderson. The commission describes its major proposals at the Paris Peace Conference (September 13-November 19, 1951), which addressed difficult issues such as war damages, the repatriation of refugees, and the question of blocked bank accounts.
The report also includes the comments of the Israeli and Arab delegations on the commission’s proposals. In conclusion, the Conciliation Commission complains of its failure to make substantial progress. Annex A to the report includes detailed figures on the evaluation of abandoned Arab properties prepared by the Refugee Office.Document 514: Law ofthe State of Israel: Entry into Israel Law (August 26, 1952) [6 LSI 159 (1951-52)]. This Israeli law governs visitors’ entry into Israel. Under the law, an individual who is not an Israeli citizen may only enter Israel according to a visa issued pursuant to the law, and visitors may enter Israel only at designated places of border control. Further, the minister of the interior may expel any person who enters Israel without being authorized to enter and any person who is not an Israeli citizen or a new immigrant under the Law of Return (1950) who is found in Israel without a residence permit. This law, in combination with the aforementioned Law of Return, in effect privileged the entrance ofJews into Israel and barred the entrance or return of nonJews.
Document 515: Law of the State of Israel: Land Acquisition (Validation of Acts and Compensation) Law (March 10, 1953) [7 LSI 43]. This law permits the government of the State of Israel to vest within the Development Authority any abandoned property essential for development, settlement, or security. These regulations are to be governed by certification by a government minister.
Document 516: Law of the State of Israel: Prevention ofInfiltration (Offences and Jurisdiction) Law (August 16, 1954) [8 LSI 133 (1954)]. This Israeli law makes it a crime for persons who fled Israel during the conflict to return to their homes. Any person who attempts to return is to be brought before the Tribunal for the Prevention of Infiltration. The tribunal is to be operated under the Israeli Army Code and granted the authority to either imprison or deport any person attempting to return to their homes. All expenses for the deportation are to be paid with the property of the deportee.
Document 517: Basic Law of the State of Israel: Israel Lands (July 19, 1960) [14 LSI 48 (1960)]. This Israeli Basic Law prohibits the transfer of ownership of any land considered the territory of the State of Israel to another party.
Document 518: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1725, Intensifying Work on Identification and Evaluation of Properties (December 20, 1961) [G.A. Res. 1725, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/RES/1725 (XVI) (1961)]. In Resolution 1725, the General Assembly requests that the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine intensify its work on the identification and evaluation of Arab refugee immovable properties in Palestine as of May 15, 1948, and complete its work by September 1, 1962.
Document 519: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2535, Directing Attention to the Continuing Critical Financial Position of the UNRWA (December 10, 1969) [G.A. Res. 2535, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A∕RES∕2535(XXIV)A-C (1969)]. In Resolution 2535, the General Assembly expresses regret that repatriation or compensation of refugees pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948) has not been achieved, nor has resettlement been implemented as a back-up measure. This resolution highlights Israel’s refusal to implement previous resolutions to this effect and requests that the Security Council take measures to ensure implementation. In this document, the General Assembly refers to Palestinians for the first time as a “people” with national rights. The continuing budgetary shortfalls of UNRWA are noted.
Document 520: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2672, Repatriation or Compensation of the Refugees Has Not Been Effected (December 8, 1970) [G.A. Res. 2672, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/RES/2672 (XXV) A-D (1970)]. General Assembly Resolution 2672 requests that the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine find a means for implementing paragraph 11 of Resolution 194, which calls for the repatriation or compensation of refugees. Resolution 2672 also declares that the principle of equal rights and self-determination for the Palestinian people is essential to the establishment of a lasting peace.
Document 521: Law of the State of Israel: Absentees’ Property (Compensation) Law (June 27, 1973) [27 LSI 176 (1973)]. This Israeli law validates the transfer of absentees’ property to the Israeli government through the payment of compensation, even when compensation is paid to the wrong person. This law prevents a refugee from seeking legal recourse to his or her property.
Document 522: Replies by the Acting Observer of the PLO to Questions Put by Members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (March 17, 1976) [U.N. GAOR, Comm. on the Exercise of Inalienable Rts. of Palestinian People, U.N. Doc. A/AC.183/L.10 (1976)]. In this reply, the PLO clarifies its position on the “Right of Return” within the context of a possible peace settlement. The acting observer argues that sovereign independence for the Palestinian people is no substitute for the return of all Palestinians to their homes and property in any part of Palestine. The acting observer envisions a two-stage implementation of the Right of Return: the immediate return of Palestinians to territories occupied in 1967 and, subsequently, the return of all Palestinians displaced leading up to and during the 1948 war. Further, the acting observer argues that the right of return should not be made contingent upon Israel’s compliance with the demand for withdrawal.
Document 523: United Nations Report: The Right of Return of the Palestinian People (November 1, 1978) [U.N. Doc. ST/SG/SER.F/2 (1978)]. This study, prepared by the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights for the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, reviews the historical and legal development of the concept of the “Right of Return” and discusses its application to the Palestinian people. Claims to international law, Israeli legislation, the Conciliation Commission, and the United Nations are discussed in detail.
Document 524: Report of the Secretary-General on Palestine Refugees in the Palestinian Territory Occupied by Israel since 1967 (September 11, 1990) [U.N. GAOR, 45th Sess., Agenda Item 76, U.N. Doc. A/45/464 (1990)]. This report, presented by United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, provides information concerning Israel’s compliance with General Assembly Resolution 44/47 E and is based on reports from the commissioner-general of the UNRWA. The SecretaryGeneral reports that refugee shelters in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been demolished and sealed on punitive grounds by the Israeli authorities—and that the rehousing of refugees by Israeli Authorities had not yet been effected.
Document 525: PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat: The PLO and the Gulf Crisis (December 13, 1990) [reprinted in The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict (Walter Laqueur & Barry Rubin eds., 2001)]. In an interview with Vjesnik, Yasir Arafat takes a critical stance against the United States, U.N. Security Council, and Israel in light of the early developments in the First Gulf War. He contends that the United States has created a declaration of war via the Security Council and that a war will bring collapse to order in the Arab world. Arafat then describes the inequitable treatment of Palestinians in relation to the events occurring in Kuwait.
Document 526: Elias Sanbar, Head of Palestinian Delegation to Multilateral Talks on Refugees (Ottawa, 1992) [available at http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=612]. Elias Sanbar’s remarks in Ottawa discuss the need for the right of return of Palestinian refugees. He asserts that peace, stability, and justice can only be achieved by Israel’s implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 and U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.
Document 527: Middle East Peace Negotiations Multilateral Working Group on Refugees. Opening Remarks by Shlomo Ben Ami, Chairman of Israel’s Delegation, Ottawa (November 11, 1992) [On file with author]. This is a call for an international effort to solve the problem of the Palestinian refugees as part of the peace process that was launched by the Madrid Peace Conference of October 1991. Professor Ben Ami describes the origins of the problem as stemming from the 1948 war that swept in its wake hundreds of thousand of refugees. The speaker acknowledges that the Israelis “assumed the inherent immorality of war,” and was probably the first official Israeli representative to recognize that “the Palestinians were a major victim of the Arab/Israeli conflict.” While recognizing that the state of the refugees living under Israeli administration is “a moral burden on our collective conscience,” the Israeli head of delegation describes the many projects of rehabilitation and resettlement that his government has advanced in favor of the refugees. He also calls for a shift in the policy of international agencies, such as UNRWA, from welfare to rehabilitation and promises that his government views an agreed upon solution of the refugee problem as an essential component of the historical reconciliation between the Palestinian people and Israel. He, however, calls on the Arab side and the international community to remove the impediments for the emancipation of the refuges while the search for a political solution continues. For that purpose, the speaker advanced a plan of housing, infrastructure and basic services in refugee camps in Israel’s administered territories while expressing the hope that similar projects will be carried out in the refugee camps in Arab countries as well.
Document 528: Excerpts from the Report of the Secretary-General on Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States and UNRWA (September 19, 1996) [U.N. Doc. A/51/380 (1996)]. In this report, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali describes the prevailing close cooperation between the UNRWA and the League of Arab States. In addition to providing financial assistance to UNRWA, the League of Arab States is reported to have cooperated with UNRWA on workshops and topical meetings and providing education services to Palestine refugees in host countries.
Document 529: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 58/94, Palestine Refugees’ Properties a.nd Their Revenues (December17, 2003) [G.A. Res. 58/94, U.N. GAOR, 58th Sess., Agenda Item 83, U.N. Doc. A/RES/58/94 (2003)]. In Resolution 58/94, the General Assembly notes the completion of the program of identification and evaluation of Arab property, as well as the Land Office’s compilation of a schedule of Arab owners and a file of documents defining the location, area, and other particulars of Arab property. It expresses its appreciation of the work done to preserve and modernize the Conciliation Commission’s existing records, including the land records, and its importance in securing a just resolution for Palestine refugees in conformity with General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948). The General Assembly also urges Palestinians and Israelis to deal with the important issue of Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues in the framework of the final status negotiations.
Document 530: UNRWA Report: Impact of the First Phase of Israel’s Barrier on UNRWA- Registered Refugees (2003) [available at http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/ barrier/f-phase.html]. This report evaluates the impact of the first phase of Israel’s wall on refugees registered with the UNRWA. UNRWA determines that fourteen communities in the Qalqilya, Tulkarm, and Jenin Governorates, numbering 13,636 Palestinians—including 374 refugee families, or 1,870 individuals—will be most affected by the barrier, left isolated between the barrier and the pre-1967 borders (Green Line).