'Jewish State' and the Right of Return Israel's War on Palestinian Refugees
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al majdISSUE NO.13a ~ MARCHl 2002 al majdal aims to raise public awareness and support for a just solution to Palestinian residency and BADIL Resource Center refugee issues for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights The 'Jewish State' and the Right of Return Israel's War on Palestinian Refugees Updates on Refugee Activities for the Right of Return/Real Property Restitution The 'Jewish State', the Right of Return, and a Durable Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Commentary: "Palestinians Don't Forget the Lessons of 1948" Refugee Voices: "I Witnessed" Updates on Refugee Protection and Assistance al majdal 1 al- Majdal is a quarterly newsletter of BADIL Resource Center that aims to raise Table of Contents public awareness and support for a just solution to Palestinian residency and 3 The 'Jewish State' and the Right of Return - refugee issues Israel's War on Palestinian Refugees 6 Campaign for Palestinian Refugee Rights Annual Subscription n Community and International Mobilization: Global (4 issues) Right of Return Coalition Calls for Arab Unity on Right of US$ 20 Return; Land Day 2002; Right of Return Committee in Denmark Holds Lectures on the Right of Return and Jewish Democracy; al-Awda (US) Organizes Emergency Fund Published by for Refugees; Internally Displaced Palestinians Demand Reopening of Mosque in Destroyed Village. BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian n Lobbying the UN and International Community: Refugees Residency and Refugee Rights Appeal to UN to Stop Israel's War on the Camps; Arab PO Box 728 NGO Forum Calls upon the Arab Summit to Reaffirm the Right of Return; BADIL Calls Upon US State Department to Bethlehem, Palestine Remedy Underreporting of Refugee Rights; Sanctions/ Tel/ Fax: 972- 2- 274- 7346 Boycott Campaign Pickets up Support; Update on World Conference Against Racism. Email: info@ badil. org n War Crimes: Update on Ariel Sharon Web: www. badil. org 14 Refugee Protection n Update on Impact of Israel's Military Siege on Palestinian Editor Refugees Terry Rempel n UN and International Protection: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Report; Activities of the ICRC and UNRWA; EU Releases 'Non- Editorial Team Paper' on Taba Talks; Ingrid Jaradat Gassner, Terry Rempel, n Right of Return and Real Property Restitution: US State Department Ignores Refugees Right of Return and Real Mohammad Jaradat, Nihad Boka'ee Proprety Restitution; Update on Iqrit and Bir'am; Israel Updates Property Records for Jews from Arab Countries; Israel Rejects Request for Release of Information on Layout & Design Movable Property of Palestinian Refugees; Update on Atallah Salem Confiscation and Destruction of Palestinian property inside Israel. Advisory Board 24 In Memoriam Salem Abu Hawash (Palestine) 25 The 'Jewish State' and Palestinian Salman Abu Sitta (Kuwait) Refugee Rights Abdel Fattah Abu Srour (Palestine) 30 "Palestinians, Don't Forget the Lesson of Susan Akram (USA) 1948" Commentary by BADIL staff Nihad Boka'ee Mahmoud al- Ali (Lebanon) 32 Refugee Assistance Aisling Byrne (UK) Update on UNRWA Regular and Emergency Operations Marwan Dallal (Palestine) 36 Refugee Voices Randa Farah (Jordan) Arjan al- Fassed (Netherlands) 39 BADIL Resources Jalal Al Husseini (Switzerland) 40 Documents Mahmoud Issa (Denmark) Mustafa al- Khawaja (Palestine) Scott Leckie (Switzerland) Cover Photos: Damaged houses of Deheishe Refugee Camp, West Bank, 8 March 2002. Ali Nasser (Syria) John Quigley (USA) Back issues of al- Majdal are available in hard copy format Rosemary Sayigh (Lebanon) from BADIL. The full set of back issues are also archived in Rami Shehadeh (Palestine) html and PDF format on the BADIL website. 2 March 2002 The 'Jewish State' and the Right of Return Israel's War on Palestinian Refugees Over the course of the past three months (January- impose a settlement on the Palestinian people March 2002) Israel's military and political through military force and thereby avoid a establishment inflicted unprecedented damage and comprehensive peace agreement based on destruction in the 1967 occupied territories in an international law and UN resolutions. effort to crush Palestinian resistance to Israel's illegal 35-year military occupation and more than As Sharon himself stated, "It won't be possible to 50-year denial of Palestinian refugee rights. Since reach an agreement with [the Palestinians] before the beginning of the year Israeli military forces and the Palestinians are hit hard. Now they have to be settlers have killed more than 350 Palestinians, an hit. If they aren't badly beaten, there won't be any increase of 80 percent from negotiations. Only after they the previous three-month "I heard Israelis say over and again that it are beaten will we be able to period, representing the would be 'suicide' for Israel to admit a conducts talks." (Ha'aretz, 5 highest three-month death toll Palestinian right of return, that no country March 2002) For Israel's since the beginning of the al- could be expected to do that," political and military Aqsa intifada in late "How to overcome this abyss is a challenge establishment, the death of September 2000. that should haunt the political imagination of more than a thousand all those genuinely committed to finding a Palestinians since September More than a year ago just and sustainable reconciliation between 2000 as well as several following the collapse of final Israel and Palestine." hundred of its own Jewish status negotiations at Camp Richard Falk citizens, the mass destruction David (July 2000) and Taba Profeeor of international law of Palestinian property and (January 2001) numerous Israeli commentators and considerable economic losses for Israel, is a price political figures stated that violent confrontation, that the establishment appears willing to exact to including war, was preferable to accepting the right try to impose a solution on the Palestinian people of Palestinian refugees to return to their places of that preserves both the post-1967 colonization origin inside Israel. Events on the ground indicate program in the occupied territories and the Jewish that these statements were not simply empty talk. character of the state (i.e., a Jewish demographic Israel continues to expand the use of lethal weapons majority and Jewish control of refugee lands). against the Palestinian civilian population and increase the severity of its military attacks. This The International Community and the included a sustained three-week campaign in March 'Jewish State' that targeted Palestinian refugee camps throughout the 1967 occupied territories. The ongoing absence of effective international intervention further suggests that the United States, By the end of March 2002 Israeli Prime Minister along with key European allies, now accept that Ariel Sharon, under the pretext of fighting Israel's aerial bombardment, use of surface-to- Palestinian suicide bombings, had declared that surface missiles, and strafing of refugee camps with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was an enemy heavy machine gun fire, as well as attacks on of Israel and that Israel was in a state of war. Israel's medical personnel, is acceptable practice in defense latest military assault that began in late March with of the Jewish state. It is difficult to draw any other the total re-occupation of Ramallah and 'isolation' conclusion, given the widespread consensus within of President Arafat, despite internal intelligence the international human rights community that reports that there is a direct correlation between Israel has repeatedly committed grave breaches of Israel's military campaigns and a decrease in international humanitarian and human rights law, security inside Israel, strongly suggests that the and that the use of weapons (purchased by Israel underlying aim of the Sharon government is to from the US and individual European states and al majdal 3 Israeli tanks move toward Balata refugee camp/Nablus, March 2002 used in the occupied territories) violate provisions refugees and avoid having to live together with of relevant domestic law. Palestinians on the basis of full and complete equality was evident in Israel's response to the The extent of US support, in particular, for Israel proposal for a comprehensive peace adopted by the as a Jewish state is evident not only in the speeches Arab Summit in late March. The proposal offered of US politicians but also in the 2001 US Israel full normal relations in exchange for a Department of State Country Report on human comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian/Arab- rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Israeli conflict based on international law. This territories that was released in February. The report included an end to Israel's 35-year long military lists some of the laws relating to citizenship/ occupation (i.e., full withdrawal to 4th June 1967 residency and property rights and institutions that armistice lines), establishment of an independent grant special privileges and services to Jews but Palestinian state in all of the West Bank and Gaza avoids any discussion of the ramifications of these Strip with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, and a laws and institutions for the human rights of solution to the Palestinian refugee issue consistent Palestinians. The report fails to mention that there with UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (i.e., is no fundamental right to equality in Israel and return, restitution and compensation). that the right to equality is upheld only to the extent that it is consistent with the Jewish character