Synopses & Reviews
The 1948 war ended in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their villages and homes. Israeli settlers moved in to occupy their land and the Palestinian refugees found themselves in refugee camps, or in neighbouring Arab countries. Today there are nearly four million Palestinian refugees -- and they want the right to go home. Their problem is the greatest and most enduring refugee problem in the world.
Since 1948 Israeli refugee policy has become a classic case of denial: the denial that Zionist "transfer committees" had operated between 1937 and 1948; denial of any wrong-doing or any historical injustice; denial of the "right of return"; denial of restitution of property and compensation; and indeed denial of any moral responsibility or culpability for the creation of the refugee problem.
The aim of this book is to analyze Israeli policies towards the Palestinian refugees as they evolved from the 1948 catastrophe (or nakba) to the present. It is the first volume to look in detail at Israeli law and policy surrounding the refugee question. Drawing on extensive primary sources and previously classified archive material, Masalha discusses the 1948 exodus; Israeli resettlement schemes since 1948; Israeli approaches to compensation and restitution of property; Israeli refugee policies towards the internally displaced (‘present absentees); and Israeli refugee policies during the Madrid and Oslo negotiations.
Masalha asks what rights Palestinians possess under international law? How can a refugee population be compensated, and will they ever be able to return to their homes? Masalha questions the official Israeli position that the only solution to the problem is resettlement of the refugees in Arab states or elsewhere. This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the subject that lies at the heart of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Synopsis
The 1948 war ended in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. Israeli settlers moved in to occupy their land and the Palestinian refugees found themselves expelled. Today there are nearly four million Palestinian refugees - and they want the right to go home. Since 1948 Israeli refugee policy has become a classic case of denial: the denial that Zionist 'transfer committees' had operated between 1937 and 1948; denial of any wrong doing or any historical injustice; denial of the 'right of return'; denial of restitution of property and compensation; and indeed denial of any moral responsibility or culpability for the creation of the refugee problem. This book analyses Israeli policies towards the Palestinian refugees as they evolved from the 1948 catastrophe (or nakba) to the present. It is the first volume to look in detail at Israeli law and policy surrounding the refugee question. Drawing on extensive primary sources and previously classified archive material, Masalha discusses the 1948 exodus; Israeli resettlement schemes since 1948; Israeli approaches to compensation and restitution of property; Israeli refugee policies towards the internally displaced ('present absentees'); and Israeli refugee policies during the Madrid and Oslo negotiations.
Synopsis
Analyses Israeli policies towards Palestinian refugees from 1948 to the present.
Synopsis
Investigates state involvement in war crimes surrounding activists on the island of Bougainville, who struggled to close a Rio Tinto owned copper mine
About the Author
Liz Fekete is Executive Director of the Institute of Race Relations and has written and lectured widely on issues of migration, race and security in Europe. She edits the European Race Bulletin. She is a consultant on refugee and immigration issues to a number of organisations, including the Refugee Council, and was an expert witness at the Basso Permanent Peoples' Tribunal and the World Tribunal on Iraq.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Palestinian Nakba: Zionism, ‘Transfer and the 1948 Exodus
2. Israels ‘New Historians and the Nakba: A Critique of Zionist Discourse
3. ‘If You Cant Solve it, Dissolve it: Israeli Resettlement Schemes Since 1948
4. Israeli Approaches to Restitution of Property and Compensation (1948-1956)
5. The ‘Present Absentees and their Legal Struggle: Evolving Israeli
Policies Towards the Internally Displaced (1948-2003)
6. The 1967 Refugee Exodus
7. Israeli Refugee Policies During Negotiations: From Madrid to Taba (October 1991-January 2001)
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index