U.N. official plays down Palestinian ‘return’ quest

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Few Palestinian refugees want to
return to lands lost in the 1948 war of Israel’s creation,
though they demand the Jewish state accept they have the right
to do so, a U.N. official said in remarks published on Tuesday.

The “right of return” for refugees and millions of their
descendents is a core Palestinian demand. Israel says accepting
a refugee influx would destroy its Jewish character and
majority, and would amount to “demographic suicide.”

Karen Koning AbuZayd, commissioner of the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said
solving the refugee issue would require Israel’s consent.

“Any solution of this issue must be acceptable to both
sides,” she told NRG, the Web site of the Israeli daily Maariv.

“But I am really convinced that most of the people would
not want to return. Perhaps there are a few old people who
dream about going back to their houses, but no more than that,”
said AbuZayd, who took over the U.N. agency in June.

“Most refugees do not think about it at all. The right to
return to their homes is much more important to them than the
act of returning,” she said. The interview appeared in Hebrew.

The Palestinian Authority, interim government for the
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, said the
refugee issue was among disputes that must be resolved in peace
talks with Israel and in accordance with international law.

“Refugees, Jerusalem, borders, Jewish settlements and water
are issues reserved to the final-status talks between the two
sides and nothing should pre-empt or pre-judge the outcome of
the final status talks before they begin,” senior Palestinian
negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

Asked about the NRG interview, a spokesman for AbuZayd said
the quotes were accurate, but he clarified in a statement that:
“The position of UNRWA on this issue is clear and has never
changed: the refugees themselves must have the right to
choose.”

HAMAS DISMISSES REMARKS

Hamas, an Islamic militant group spearheading a
4-1/2-year-old Palestinian revolt, reacted angrily to AbuZayd’s
remarks.

“We demand that Mrs AbuZayd stop intervening in this issue,
because her role is to serve Palestinian refugees and not
cancel their political right to return to the land from which
they were displaced,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for
Hamas, which is sworn to the Jewish state’s destruction.

The United Nations partitioned British-ruled Palestine into
Jewish and Arab states in 1947. Israel declared independence
the following year, and came under attack from several Arab
states.

Around 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were driven from
their homes by Jewish forces. With their descendents, the
refugees now number 4 million. Many live in impoverished camps
scattered throughout the Middle East.

There have been proposals to resolve refugee claims with
compensation or resettlement in the West Bank and Gaza, where
Palestinians seek statehood. Israel’s plan to quit Gaza next
week has stirred hopes of restarting a U.S.-backed peace plan.

Israel — a nation of 6.9 million citizens — has dismissed
the right of return as a ruse to flood it with Palestinians and
overturn the Jewish constitutional framework.

Asked about AbuZayd’s remarks, an Israeli government
spokesman said they reflected international consensus and
echoed Erekat’s call for the fate of refugees to be decided in
talks.

“When we reach final-status discussions, Israel is
committed to discussing the refugee issue,” said the Foreign
Ministry’s Mark Regev.

“I think everyone in the international community
understands that the so-called right of return is diametrically
opposed to the principles of a two-state solution in which both
peoples have national self-determination,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)