[The Palestinian right of return is a historical, national and collective right rooted in the individual and collective inviolable right of an individual and a people to their original homes, property, and homeland, and to restitution, regardless of agreements, developments in international law and political framework. It is a right that transcends generations, political entities, and is not subject to any form of negation or compromise. It is an inextricable right from the fundamental right of unconditional self-determination for the totality of the Palestinian people regardless of their place of residence or birth.] - Al-Awda (Right To Return Coalition) International Convention Resolution, June 2003, Toronto Resolution 1 - On the definition of the Right of Return

The Palestinian Right of Return is the core issue of the Palestinian Question. It is the right of displaced Palestinian refugees to return to the homes and villages from which they were displaced.

Since 1947, the Zionist project has remained committed to its central goal of achieving a Jewish majority in Palestine by evacuating the indigenous Palestinian population, controlling and stealing the land, promoting mass Jewish immigration, and refusing the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The Israeli Law of Return, passed in 1950 in the Israeli Knesset, states that “every Jew has the right to come to this country [Israel] as an oleh [immigrant].” On the other hand, Palestinian refugees are denied return and access to their homes and properties. Israeli attempts to terrorize and displace Palestinians continue to this day.

The Israeli policies have resulted in the displacement of nearly six million Palestinians over the past half century. The Palestinian Refugees can be categorized into five main Categories:

• 1947-1948: 800,000 Palestinian refugees who fled their homes due to Israeli massacres and terrorizing tactics. • 1967: 350,000 Palestinian Refugees who were displaced and terrorized by the 1967 war. • Absentees: Palestinian refugees who were either outside Palestine at the time of occupation and were never allowed return. Another group that falls within this category are Palestinians who left after the occupation of 1967 for school or work, and were never allowed re-entry because they could not return to renew their identification cards. The latter group is not registered as refugees. The properties of the absentees were largely confiscated under Israel Law of Absentees. • Deportees: Palestinians who were deported by the Israeli government, and their descendants, based on their connection to the Palestinian Resistance. • Internally Displaced Palestinians: 250,000 Palestinians who are holders of Israeli Citizenship, but who are denied access to 96 percent of their property under the Law of “Present Absentees”. Sadly, under international law, they are not considered refugees.

The international community responded to the 1948 refugee catastrophe with the UN passed General Assembly Resolution (UNGA) 194, which mandated that the Palestinian refugees should be allowed immediate return and compensation. The UN made Israel’s own membership in the world body contingent on Israeli acceptance of 194 and the rights it granted to the Palestinians (UN Resolution 273 of 11 May 1949). Israel on the other hand, from the day it was established, maintained its refusal to implement any UN resolution including obligatory General Assembly resolutions. The UN and the International community have not taken responsibility for implementing any of its resolutions, including the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees, and limit their role to partial relief efforts, with continuous attempts to dilute the right of return into a subject for mere academic research.

Since then, all political initiatives for “peace” in the past decades, including signed agreements between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, have dealt with the Palestinian Refugees as if they were the “problem”. Israel has refused to take responsibility for the displacement of Palestinian refugees, and instead attempts to distribute the responsibility to the International community including the United Nations, Arab Countries and the United States.

So far, none of the political initiatives have brought justice to Palestinian refugees, including the Oslo Agreements and the current “Road Map to Peace”. There have been failed attempts to resettle Palestinians in other countries, and attempts to literally eliminate the “refugees” in the Sabra and Shatila massacres of 1982 and the demolition of the Jenin Refugee camp in 2002. There have been calls by the Israeli “want-to-be-left” for refugees to return to the West Bank and Gaza. A few Palestinian academics have also sold out the right of return of six million Palestinian refugees in order to gain acceptance from their Israeli and western counterparts or for generous financial compensation. There are also attempts by slick Zionists to convert the “right to return” into a “Desire to return”. Even in the face of these attacks, the Palestinian Authority has shown itself to be willing to compromise the right of return in order to maintain power.

Palestinian refugees have been fighting for their right of return from the day they were displaced. Despite their worsening conditions over the years, with pressures mounting on them to give up their birthright, the Palestinian refugees formed committees inside and outside refugee camps, to protect and demand the right of return. Many attempted return and were killed by the Israelis at the Lebanese and Jordanian borders. Palestinian women have struggled to protect the Palestinian national identity while in exile. Archives were made of land deeds and family trees. Descending generations continue the struggle for their rights, with a special focus on widening the solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

However, one can see clearly that despite the strength of the solidarity movement, many activists have dealt with the right of return for Palestinian refugees as a “separate issue” and a “second priority” relative to the “end of occupation”. There are a number of reasons why the right of return has not been seen as a priority by international activists and in some cases by Palestinian activists.

First, the sheer magnitude of the Israeli daily atrocities has given priority to the immediate relief of the human suffering of Palestinians living in West Bank and Gaza. Second, the solidarity movement considers 1967 to mark the commencement of the Israeli Occupation. However, to understand the Palestinian struggle the date we should refer to is 1948 because it was in the years following the creation of the state of Israel that the majority of the Palestinian refugees were displaced. Finally, those arguing for the right of return are accused of racism by Zionists and charged with trying to destroy the Jewish character of the state of Israel. But it must be acknowledged that the exclusion of Palestinians in order to maintain Jewish dominance is itself a racist project. The solidarity movement should not be apologetic in its stance against Israeli Zionist racism. Israel, as a racist state, should be abolished to make way for a democratic one-state solution, where the refugees would have the right to return to their homes and villages.

There are many arguments that Zionists and Israel apologists make to de-legitimize the claims of Palestinian refugees. It is argued that Palestine is fairly small and cannot absorb the millions of displaced Palestinians, especially with the new “realities on the ground”. But the land has absorbed millions of Jews since 1948. Recent studies conducted by Dr. Salman Abu-Sitta demonstrate that Palestinian lands occupied in 1948 are still largely empty, since 78 percent of the Jewish population lives on 15 percent of the these lands. Though Israel has been trying to change these demographics, that does not constitute an excuse for refusing the return of refugees. After all, a right is a right.

Another common argument is that Palestinian refugees are Arabs, and hence, they should be resettled in other Arab countries. However, Palestinians existed in Palestine before 1948, and Palestinian culture, heritage and achievement are visible at every corner. All resettlement attempts have failed. Clearly, the Palestinian people will not give up their right to return to their homes. On the other hand, only Palestinian refugees have the right to choose to return or not. It is not a choice for Israel. Ironically, Israel is calling for Jews around the world to claim rights to Palestine based on biblical scripts from 3000 years ago, while preventing Palestinians from returning to a land from which they were displaced less than half a century ago.