Right of Return
Israel is adamantly opposed to any right of return of Palestinian refugees and attempts to undermine the legitimacy of UN Resolution 194, claiming that it is not legally binding as it is not a Security Council resolution. Arguments proffered by Israel and its supporters against the right of return seek to deny Israel’s responsibility for the mass expulsions of the Palestinians, claiming that Palestinians “voluntarily left” after orders from Arab countries in 1948, and they suggest that there are plenty of Arab countries for Palestinians to live in. The Israeli state also uses a dehumanising discourse that describes the Palestinians as a “demographic threat” associating the return of Palestinian refugees with nightmare scenario that purportedly threatens the existence of Israel.
The right of return is however a basic and inalienable right of all refugees. Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homes and lands is affirmed in Resolution in 194, in line with the broader principles of international refugee law. The return of Palestinian refugees is neither impossible nor impractical. The claim that the return of Palestinian refugees threatens Israel’s existence is a discriminatory claim that seeks to maintain both the numerical dominance of Israeli Jews and their privileged status and rights in the territory of historic Palestine. What is indisputable is that the issue of Palestinian refugees is a direct challenge to the world’s moral conscience and a test of the international community’s resolve to seek just solutions to world problems.