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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.
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