BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

Politics and the Question of Palestinian Refugees and IDPs
Why have negotiations on the Palestinian refugee question failed?
Negotiations on the Palestinian refugee question have failed mainly because no impartial third-party mediation or binding
enforcement mechanisms have been included in peace negotiations between Arab states, the PLO and Israel. Such a mechanism,
if based on principles established by international and UN resolutions, would level the playing fields of power politics and bring
the parties, Israel in particular, closer to a rights-based approach. Israel has persistently rejected impartial third-party monitoring
and international peace conferences under the auspices of the UN, insisting instead on “direct negotiations among the parties.”
Powerful states have lacked the political will to enforce international law and UN resolutions in political negotiations involving
Israel. Rather, Israel’s position has been supported by Western governments, most recently the United States.
5.3 Political actors, peace, and the question of Palestinian refugees
5.3.1 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
The PLO, established in 1964, and recognized as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, has
consistently called for the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes of origin in accordance with international
law, relevant UN resolutions, and the choice of each refugee. 40 The PLO takes a rights-based approach to durable
solutions.
A Rights-based Approach vs. a Politically-driven Approach to Palestinian Refugees and IDPs
A rights-based approach to peacemaking, peace-building, reconciliation and development emphasizes the role of legal
norms and obligations. 41 Such an approach entails recognition of the rights of all parties; respect for the principles of
accountability, justice and the rule of law; and the participation of the parties concerned. Negotiations undertaken by
international organizations and states should aim to establish, safeguard and implement the rights of all parties to the
conflict, most especially civilian victims of that conflict. Priority should be given to the rights and participation of the victims
of violations of human rights and humanitarian law, such as the right to remedy and reparation in the case of refugees and
IDPs. Victims are encouraged to organize themselves and advocate for their rights.
A rights-based approach to the question of Palestinian refugees and IDPs emphasizes the intrinsic value and function of
durable solution rights, i.e., return, restitution and compensation, as well as the panoply of civil, economic and social rights
to be accorded to displaced persons until they are able to realize durable solutions, whether these are voluntary return,
or third country resettlement and integration.
However, efforts to resolve the Palestinian refugee question have placed greater emphasis on the national interests of
states, the balance of power between them, and the give-and-take of an open-ended bargaining process. This approach
is sometimes described as “politically-driven”, “pragmatic” or “realistic”, given that Israeli and Palestinian representatives
do not agree on the interpretation or applicability of international law concerning the matter of Palestinian refugees.
While durable solutions for refugees are ultimately the result of political negotiation processes, a rights-based approach
strengthens the role played by law; by contrast, in negotiations that are politically-driven, the status of refugee rights is
determined by the balance of power between the parties. The two approaches are also distinguished by the fact that the starting
point of a rights-based approach is the refugee her- or himself, while politically-driven approaches are state-centric.
5.3.2 Israel
The state of Israel is unwilling to accept return as a right or principle. Israel has continuously voted against
UN Resolutions that affirm the rights of return and restitution of Palestinian refugees, and/or the right to selfdetermination
of the Palestinian people. 42 Although Israel has accepted, in principle, the right of return to the
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip of those displaced for the first time in 1967, 43 successive Israeli governments
have continued to insist on a politically-driven approach to the refugee question. On this basis Israel is prepared
to permit, at most, the return of a limited number of Palestinian refugees, not as a matter of right, but as a
humanitarian gesture within the framework of family reunification. 44
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