The right of return is a central issue in the Palestinian question. The refugees created by Israeli ethnic cleansing operations before and after the war of 1948 remain dispersed all over the globe, awaiting the day when they can return to their pillaged communities. Even though there have been countless resolutions calling for their return, Israel has remained adamant about not allowing this.
This is not a new policy, from the very beginning Israel purposefully destroyed hundreds of villages and shot any refugee who attempted to return to cement the new status quo [You can read more about this here].
As an ethnocracy, Israel has always been obsessed with demographics. So, it makes sense that it would do everything in its power to reduce the number of Palestinians as much as possible, while increasing the number of Jewish Israelis as much as possible. The fact that today the two populations between the river and the sea are reaching parity must be so infuriating to Israeli policy makers, to know that despite all the ethnic cleansing and millions of imported settlers that they are still not able to form a solid majority.
Thus, Palestinian refugees have always been in Israel’s crosshairs, not only physically but also discursively. We can see the effects of this when the status of Palestinian refugees is questioned. The popular talking point claims that Palestinian refugees are unique, and that no other refugee population can pass on their refugee status to their descendants. This, they argue, is proof that most Palestinian refugees are actually fake refugees, and that the only real refugees are the originally expelled population. Granted, of course, that this is in the unlikely event where they even acknowledge that any Palestinians were expelled to begin with, and they do not simply regurgitate other ahistoric myths such as the Arab orders to evacuate [You can read more about this here].
To begin with, it is important to understand that contrary to other refugees, Palestinian refugees are under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Normally refugees fall under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This, of course, only adds to the accusation that Palestinian refugees are treated differently than any other. In reality, however, it was due to the fact that the UNHCR did not exist at the time, and UNRWA was created as a special body specifically for the Palestinian refugee crisis.
So, does UNRWA treat Palestinian refugees differently than the UNHCR? Would Palestinian refugees be unable to pass on their status to their descendants if they were under the mandate of the UNHCR, for example?
Let us inspect the main argument of the talking point, that Palestinian refugees are in the unique position of passing down their refugee status to their descendants:
This is simply nonsense.
The United Nations states that:
“Under international law and the principle of family unity, the children of refugees and their descendants are also considered refugees until a durable solution is found. Both UNRWA and UNHCR recognize descendants as refugees on this basis, a practice that has been widely accepted by the international community, including both donors and refugee hosting countries.”
The website continues:
“Palestine refugees are not distinct from other protracted refugee situations such as those from Afghanistan or Somalia, where there are multiple generations of refugees, considered by UNHCR as refugees and supported as such. Protracted refugee situations are the result of the failure to find political solutions to their underlying political crises.“
UNRWA spokesman, Chriss Dunnes, explains this further, stating that:
“..refugee families everywhere retain their status as refugees until they fall within the terms of a cessation clause or are able to avail themselves of one of three durable solutions already mentioned — voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement in a third country.“
Since none of these solutions have occurred for Palestinian refugees, then they and their descendants are still considered refugees. Palestinians are not unique in this regard, refugees from Afghanistan or the Western Sahara, for instance, are also multi-generational, because a solution to their political crises has not yet been reached.
Some form of the argument claims that had Palestinian refugees been subjected to the UNHCR as opposed to UNRWA, most would not be classified as refugees due to resettlement or naturalization. The official UNRWA website refutes this completely:
“…the protracted situation in which Palestine refugees live is not unique. UNHCR estimates that 78 per cent of all refugees under its mandate – 15.9 million refugees – were in protracted refugee situations at the end of 2017. According to UNHCR data, of the 20.1 million refugees under UNHCR protection in 2018, less than three percent of refugees (593,800) were repatriated back to their country of origin. Far fewer were resettled in a third country (92,400) or naturalized as citizens in their country of asylum (62,600). The vast majority remained refugees pending a solution to their plight.”
The attack on Palestinian refugees stems from the deep insecurity of Israel and its advocates, even if they refuse to admit it. The refugees are the living breathing evidence of Israel’s original sin, they are a stark reminder that heinous crimes were committed against the native population of Palestine. Despite all these efforts to define them out of existence, they are not going anywhere, and have a full right to return to their homes.
- Takkenberg, Lex, and Francesca Albanese. The status of Palestinian refugees in international law. Oxford University Press, USA, 2020.
- UNRWA, Occupied Palestinian territory emergency appeal 2019 – FACT SHEET, April 9th, 2019.
- UNRWA frequently asked questions [Link]
- Ma’an News Network, Exploding the myths: UNRWA, UNHCR and the Palestine refugees, June 27th, 2011.
- Zureik, Elia. Israel’s colonial project in Palestine: Brutal pursuit. Routledge, 2015.
- Khalidi, Rashid. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017. Metropolitan Books, 2020.
- Nur, Masalha. Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of” transfer” in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948. Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992.
- Flapan, Simha. The birth of Israel: Myths and realities. London: Croom Helm, 1987.
- Pappe, Ilan. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Simon and Schuster, 2007.