This is a proposed plan for the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes. It is not Utopia. It is an attempt to bring peace to a region torn by strife and destroyed by war brought to it by foreigners armed with weaponry, money and political clout. The primary victims of this unholy endeavour have been the Palestinians, since their destruction and uprooting in al Nakba of 1948.
The Palestinian Nakba is unsurpassed in history. For a country to be occupied by a foreign minority, emptied almost entirely of its national majority, its physical and cultural landmarks obliterated, its destruction hailed as a miraculous act of God and a victory for freedom and civilized values, all done according to a premeditated plan, meticulously executed, financially and politically supported from abroad, and still maintained today, 53 years later, with the same vigour, is no doubt unique.
Yet after over half a century of suffering, the Palestinians remain adamant in their determination to return home, in pursuit of the most elemental principles of justice.
Who prevents them from returning? Israel, and the US backing it. The absolute majority of the world governments, and greater majority of the world’s peoples, support their right to return.
The Israelis advance all kinds of arguments and claims against their return. They claim that the Arabs are the aggressors, they deserve what they got, that little David is fighting for his existence against the Arab Goliath, that there is no room now for the returnees, that the villages are destroyed and boundaries lost, that the return of the refugees will pollute the “Jewish character” of Israel and so on.
That was the consistent staple of Zionist propaganda for years. Two striking observations may be made here. First, that all these arguments and claims are false and groundless. Much of the proof is provided by Israelis themselves. Second, that even if they were true, they do not diminish the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes. Neither the cause of war, the absolute destruction of their houses, the settlement of their homes by foreign immigrants, nor the maintenance of an exclusive apartheid regime in Israel, are grounds for denying an Inalienable Right as the return home.
This extraordinary defiance of all civilized values and international law has led to a legacy of death for hundred of thousands, destitution of several millions, waste of billions of dollars in arms and ruined economies, and instability of the region which reflected itself in many capitals of the world.
Should we allow this to continue? Should the majority remain hostage to the minority? Can any free man in the world afford to stand by and watch this carnage?
Having allowed war, coercion and political conspiracies to take their course to no avail, is it not time to go back to the first principles of law and justice and give them a chance?
This plan is intended to do that. It first shows that Israelis claims against the return of refugees are false or inapplicable. Then it shows that the return is feasible and possible to the last detail. Above all, it shows that the return brings peace for all time.