Palestinian Refugees and IDPs

1
Palestinian Refugees and IDPs

• Al Nakba and Ongoing Nakba

2
Al Nakba is Ongoing NakbaThe Necessity to Review
Israel Nature, the Root causes and International
Responsibilities

• Israel is a regime of a colonizing power under
  the guise of occupation which includes many of
  the worst features of apartheid,
• UN Special Rapporteur, Prof. John Dugard Human
  Rights Situation in Palestine and other Occupied
  Arab Territories

3
Historic Palestine

• 1917 Jewish- owned land 3-4
• Jews were 7 of the entire population
• Creation of the Protracted Conflict
• 1- Establishment of Zionist movement as part of
  the international colonial movement
• 2- The Western Colonial Movement in the Middle
  East
• - Sykes-Picot Agreement 1916
• - Balfour Declaration (1917)
• - British Mandate
  (1917-1948)
• 3- UN General Assembly Resolution 181 Partition
  Plan
• 4- Creation of the state of Israel

4
The Roots of The Conflict

• Palestine from 1917- 1947
• British Mandate policy 1917-1948
• Facilitating Jewish immigration and settlement in
  Palestine (denationalize Palestinians and
  legalize Jewish immigrants),
• - Facilitating land transfer to Jewish/ Zionist
  Agencies,
• - Oppressing Palestinians uprising and closing
  eyes or encouraging undergrounds Zionist Militia
  Urgon, Haganah and others
• Early Withdrawal
• 1947 Jewish owned- land was 8
• Jews became 32 of the entire population.

5
Partition Plan
Division of Mandate/ Historic Palestine 56 for
a Jewish State although they owned only 8 and
were approximately one third of the entire
population. 43 for Arab State 1 for
Jerusalem and Bethlehem to be managed and
administered by special international system
6
Creation of the state of Israel AL NAKBA
(Catastrophe)

• 1948 war 78 under the Israeli Control
• 22 divided into West Bank controlled by Jordan,
  and Gaza Strip administered by Egypt.
• More than 750,000 Palestinians were displaced and
  became Refugees
• More than 35,000 Palestinians Became internally
  Displaced persons in Israel.
• 532 Villages and towns were destroyed partially
  or entirely.

7
Lands Occupied by Israel in1967 War

• Israel occupied Sinai, Golan Heights and entire
  Palestine (OPT),
• New wave of Palestinian refugees, about 400,000
  Refugees,
• Israel announced United Jerusalem as its Capital
• Israel controlled over nature resources and
  imposed Restrictions on economic development

8
Ongoing Nakba

• Construction of Israeli Jewish Settlements
• Control over all resource
• Enacting of Laws enabling it to confiscate
  Palestinian owned land 3,250 km out of 5,800 km
  in West Bank,
• Demolition of more than 18,000 houses from
  1967-2007
• 25 of Palestinians living in Palestine were
  arrested
• Discriminatory policies against Palestinians
  living inside Israel, and those in West Bank
• Examples
• prevention of Refugees and IDPs from return,
  restitution, compensation, (laws and Judgments)
• Unrecognized villages
• The Wall and its Associated regime (segregation),
• Permits work permits, housing permits, traveling
  permits, cultivation permitsetc)
• Checkpoints and Closure areas and measures,
  restriction on movements
• Denial of Family Reunification,
• Arbitrary torture and arrests, demolition of
  houses, assassination, or extrajudicial killing
  and The list is long
• Ongoing Nakba is an institutionalized Nakb a
  completion of what started in 1948 the ethnic
  cleansing process / displacement and
  dispossession of Palestinians, depopulation of
  the Palestinian communities, confiscation of Land
  and prevention Palestinians from exercising their
  rights

9
Bypass Roads

• Israeli Bypass roads is about 800 Km about 3 of
  historic Palestine
• To ease the construction of Settlements
• The Israeli bypass roads in the Palestinian
  Territory were erected to ease the construction
  of the illegal Israeli settlements of the West
  Bank
• To limit the development of Palestine
• was planned and paid by the Israeli Governorate,
  aiming to limit any kind of construction and
  development in the Palestinian communities
• To Prevent the establishment of Palestinian state
• bypass roads in the occupied Palestinian
  territory as a part of its policy to coerce facts
  on the ground ultimately affecting the outcome
  of negotiation with the Palestinians including
  the establishment of a viable contiguous
  Palestinian State

10
Future Palestinian promised State

• The best Israeli offer was
• 93 of the West Bank cut off by settlements and
  bypass roads
• Excluding Jerusalem (Israeli sovereignty)
• 87 settlements with 35 of settlers (there are
  about 250,000 settlers in West Bank and 200.000
  in Jerusalem)
• 3 in exchange of the 7

11
The Wall

• More than 700 Km in length
• 54 of the West Bank will remain after the wall
  (Less than 12 of Historic Palestine
• 85 of the Water wells and resources are
  controlled by Israel
• Palestinian affected directly by the wall
• More than 160,000 of Palestinians are Isolated in
  cantons behind the wall
• About 200,000 are separated from the cultivated
  land
• 115,000 Palestinians have been displaced as a
  result of the wall

12
Refugees and IDP Population in 2006-07

• All Palestinians (10.1 millions) are stateless.
  70 of the Palestinian population is either
  refugee or IDP.
• In 2007, there are 7 millions Palestinian
  refugees (6 millions 1948 Palestinian refugees
  and 1 million 1967 Palestinian refugees).
• In 2006, there were 450,000 Palestinian IDPs
  (325,000 IDPs in Israel and 115,000 IDPs in the
  occupied Palestinian territory).

13
Protection gap

• There is no UN Agency currently providing
  protection, in particular, searching for durable
  solutions for Palestinian refugees and IDPs.
• UN Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) ? mandate to
  provide assistance to Palestinian refugees in its
  area of operations (OPT, Syria, Jordan and
  Lebanon).
• UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP)
  ? mandate to protect Palestinian refugees but
  Agency is no longer active.
• UNHCR ? mandate to protect and assist Palestinian
  refugees outside UNRWA's areas of operations. Not
  actively searching for durable solutions however.

14
Review of Israel Nature

• Israels Regime over Palestinians is Unique it
  is a combination of Apartheid, colonialism and
  occupation
• As Occupying Power Israel has been transferring
  indigenous people to settle Jewish Zionists
• As colonial state Israel has been working on
  changing the demographic nature of the land for
  the benefit of Jewish communities
• As apartheid Israel has institutionalized
  discrimination and segregation, (Laws, policies
  and practices).

15
The Best Solution

• Ending the occupation,
• Ending the discriminatory policies against
  Palestinians
• Enabling refugees to exercise their right to
  return, restitution, and compensation based on GA
  Resolution 194 and SC Resolution 237.
• The two State solution is not viable anymore
• The best way is
• The establishment of the one democratic secular
  state for entire its people irrespective of their
  religion, race, ethnic...or any basis of
  discrimination.