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U.N. official plays down Palestinian 'return' quest

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 11:22 CDT

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)

Source: REUTERS

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