The Palestinian Refugee Problem , livre ebook

The Palestinian Refugee Problem
Also available
Compensation to Palestinian Refugees and the Search for Palestinian–Israeli Peace Edited by Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai
The Palestinian Refugee Problem
The Search for a Resolution
Edited by Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai
 
 
 
 
First published 2014 by Pluto Press
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Copyright © Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai 2014

The right of the individual contributors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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978 0 7453 3344 1    
Hardback
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Paperback
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PDF eBook
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Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Annexes
Preface
Acknowledgements
   1 .   Research, Policy and Negotiations and Resolving the Palestinian Refugee Problem  
Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai    2 .   Implementation Mechanism: Policy Choices and Implementation Issues  
Heike Niebergall and Norbert Wühler    3 .   Whither UNRWA?  
Liana Brooks-Rubin    4 .   Return, Repatriation, Residency and Resettlement  
Rex Brynen    5 .   An Offer They Can Refuse: Host Countries and the Palestinian Refugee Issue  
Roula El-Rifai and Nadim Shehadi    6 .   Refugee Compensation: Policy Choices and Implementation Issues  
Heike Niebergall and Norbert Wühler    7 .   Addressing Jewish Claims in the Context of a Palestinian–Israeli Agreement  
Michael R. Fischbach    8 .   Refugee Absorption and Development  
Rex Brynen    9 .   Intangible Needs, Moral Acknowledgement and the Palestinian Refugee Issue  
Michael Molloy and John Bell, with Nicole Waintraub and Ian Anderson 10 .   Managing Refugee Expectations  
Khalil Shikaki 11 .   A Never-Ending End to Claims  
Geoffrey Aronson
Notes on Contributors Index
List of Figures
 
2.1 General Structure of the Implementation Mechanism
List of Tables
  4.1    Estimates of Palestinian Refugee Populations 5.1    Estimates of Palestinian Refugee Populations in Host Countries 10.1    Negotiators Acceptable to Refugees 10.2    Terms of Agreement 10.3    Three Versions of a Refugee Solution 10.4    Four Elements of Refugees’ Interests 10.5    Refugees’ National Identity Preferences 10.6    Refugee Attachment to the Palestinian State 10.7    Refugees’ Perception of the Capacity of the Palestinian State to Absorb Refugees 10.8    Refugees’ Preferences Regarding the Size of Return 10.9    Refugees’ Preferences Regarding the Future of Refugee Camps 10.10    Refugees’ Preferences Regarding the Future of UNRWA 10.11    Refugees’ Preferences Regarding the Distribution of Compensation 10.12    Refugees’ Preferences Regarding the Value of Compensation 10.13    Refugees’ Views Regarding Compensation in Kind
List of Annexes
  9.A    Case Examples of Public Acknowledgement and Apology 9.B    Excerpts from Documents Pertaining to the Palestinian Refugee Issue and its Attendant Intangible Needs
 
Preface
 
This book is the third in a series on the Palestinian refugee issue, the result of two decades of engagement by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and others on thinking about solutions to the Palestinian refugee problem in the broader context of the Middle East peace process. The first volume, Palestinian Refugees: Challenges of Repatriation and Development (I.B. Tauris, 2007), and the second, Compensation to Palestinian Refugees and the Search for Palestinian–Israeli Peace (Pluto Press, 2013), both also edited by Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai, examined in detail the concepts of repatriation to a Palestinian state and compensation to refugees, both of which need to be addressed to allow for a resolution of the refugee problem.
This book provides a discussion of all key aspects of a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, presenting a menu of policy options with a stakeholder cost-benefit analysis, rather than a blueprint for a solution. This is a typical approach for IDRC, which as a research donor, strives to promote evidence-based analysis which can influence policy processes. Thus, it is hoped that the knowledge presented in this book will be helpful to scholars and policymakers and will feed into the Palestinian–Israeli negotiations, now and in the future.
IDRC began its involvement on the refugee issue in 1992 through a programme of research called the ‘Expert and Advisory Services Fund’ (EASF), managed since 1999 by Roula El-Rifai. EASF aimed to support thinking about solutions to the refugee problem through knowledge development and support to policy networks on the refugee file. EASF supported Canada’s role as Gavel of the Refugee Working Group as part of the multilateral track of the negotiations. The programme was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and IDRC, in collaboration with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).
Over the years, the EASF contribution to the refugee issue through support to research and policy debates has been substantial. Thematically, EASF has supported activities on the issues of repatriation to a Palestinian state, compensation and reparations to Palestinian refugees, public opinion, as well as host country issues. The EASF programme has also supported the work of the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Lebanon aimed at coordinating research and policy work on the refugee issue and learning from the experience and expertise of others.
In the last few years, EASF has focused its efforts on Lebanon, aiming to capitalize on a political opening to improve the situation of Palestinians in that country through work with the Government of Lebanon, the Prime Minister’s Office and Palestinian NGOs. In addition, IDRC focused recently on the issue of implementation mechanisms for a refugee agreement and the detailed thinking about what needs to be done, when and by whom to pave the way for a smooth and sustainable implementation of an agreement. This book discusses these issues.
Through the EASF, IDRC convened three major international conferences on the Palestinian refugee issue, two stocktaking conferences on Palestinian refugee research in 2003 and 2007, and one on the issue of compensation in 1999. These conferences were part of what came to be dubbed the ‘Ottawa Process’, which consisted of informal discussions and meetings between Palestinians, Israelis, host country officials and Palestinian refugees, to support research and promote policy debates on solutions.
In coordination with DFADT, EASF and its partners participated in briefings to regional governments and the broader international community on the state of knowledge on the technical aspects of a refugee solution.
With IDRC support, the Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet (PRRN) was also established. In addition to its continuing regular email newsletter on the refugee issue, PRRN hosts a website ( www.prrn.org ) which provided a comprehensive, substantive and unique repository of knowledge on refugee research and policy work, including IDRC-supported work. More recently, it has maintained a blog ( htpp://prrnblog.wordpress.com ) which provides analysis and offers a forum for debate on this issue.
As mentioned, this book builds on the extensive experience of IDRC and that of others. In addition to many individuals, experts and scholars, including the authors of the chapters in this book, IDRC has worked closely over the years with many institutions and NGOs and governments, which has helped make the state of knowledge on the refugee issue what it is today. It is impossible to mention all, but we will mention a few. IDRC worked closely with Chatham House, which has managed a programme on the regional aspect of the refugee issue since 1996. Fafo, the Norwegian social science research institute, helped to develop and continues to develop important data on Palestinian refugees and their living conditions. The World Bank was instrumental in developing economic analysis as part of a solution, and Israel’s Economic Cooperation Foundation developed thinking on the costing out of a solution. The Palestinian Negotiations Support Unit (NSU) participated in many Palestinian refugee activities and EASF and its partners benefited greatly from the NSU expert staff feedback on much of our work. EASF also benefited greatly from the expertise of staff of the International Organization for Migration on such issues as claims mechanisms and implementation mechanisms for peace agreements.
At the time of publication of this book, the editors are pessimistic about the current ‘Middle East Peace Process’. We are also well aware of the deteriorating situation of Palestinian refugees in the region, especially those affected by the ongoing civil war in Syria. However, through this book, the editors hope to ensure that much of the knowledge generated over the years about solutions to the refugee problem, through IDRC and many others, will be preserved and thus available