Israel Matzav

UNRWA director says 'Palestinians' have to face reality of no return

The director of UNRWA told a conference on Friday that the 'Palestinians' must acknowledge the reality that the 'refugees' are not going to return to Israel. Of course, he's the outgoing director of UNRWA, which is why he is able to speak the truth. UNRWA has long helped the Arab countries to maintain the 'Palestinians' 'refugee status' instead of resettling them in the countries in which they currently reside. Andrew Whitley, due to soon leave his post as director of the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency’s New York office, also told the National Council for US-Arab Relations’ annual conference that contacts by various countries with Hamas were commonplace.

Whitley also said that Palestinians must start acknowledging that the refugees will almost certainly not be returning to Israel, so that they can improve their situation.

Palestinians have long maintained a “right of return” to Israel and the homes they – or their ancestors – fled during Israel’s 1948/49 War of Independence. The issue has been one of the most difficult to resolve in peace negotiations.

“If one doesn’t start a discussion soon with the refugees for them to consider what their own future might be – for them to start debating their own role in the societies where they are rather than being left in a state of limbo where they are helpless but preserve rather the cruel illusions that perhaps they will return one day to their homes – then we are storing up trouble for ourselves,” he declared.

Whitley acknowledged that few Palestinians or even officials in his own organization have been willing to publicly discuss the issue.

“We recognize, as I think most do, although it’s not a position that we publicly articulate, that the right of return is unlikely to be exercised to the territory of Israel to any significant or meaningful extent,” he said.

“It’s not a politically palatable issue, it’s not one that UNRWA publicly advocates, but nevertheless it’s a known contour to the issue.”

Of course, UNRWA has done nothing to encourage such discussions, the Arab countries have no intentions of making the 'Palestinian refugees' in their midst equal citizens, and the 'Palestinian leadership' is doing everything it can not to concede the 'right of return.'

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:58 PM