PLO official: No peace without right of return and Israel's withdrawal to 1967 borders
“Member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Refugee Department [in the PLO] Zakariya Al-Agha demanded that the international community put an end to the historical injustice caused to the Palestinian people and end the tragedy of the Palestinian refugees who have been living in refugee camps for 65 years in difficult conditions…
Al-Agha said in a press release to mark the 65th anniversary of the adoption of [UN] resolution 194, that the refugee problem is at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict…
He asserted that the PLO has a principled and firm position regarding the refugee issue that hasn’t changed or been altered: adherence to the right of return of the refugees to the lands from which they were uprooted in 1948 – in accordance with UN resolution 194 – and opposition to settlement programs [of refugees in their current countries of residence] that target this right…
Al-Agha emphasized that establishing a just and comprehensive peace in the region requires that Israel recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to return to its lands from which it was uprooted and its right to establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty within the June 4 [1967] borders with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Note: UN resolution 194 (Dec. 11, 1948), Paragraph 11, states that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." While Palestinian leaders argue that Paragraph 11 guarantees the right of return for all Palestinian refugees and their offspring, Israel claims that the resolution has been misinterpreted and only calls for some refugees' return under certain conditions.
Al-Agha said in a press release to mark the 65th anniversary of the adoption of [UN] resolution 194, that the refugee problem is at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict…
He asserted that the PLO has a principled and firm position regarding the refugee issue that hasn’t changed or been altered: adherence to the right of return of the refugees to the lands from which they were uprooted in 1948 – in accordance with UN resolution 194 – and opposition to settlement programs [of refugees in their current countries of residence] that target this right…
Al-Agha emphasized that establishing a just and comprehensive peace in the region requires that Israel recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to return to its lands from which it was uprooted and its right to establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty within the June 4 [1967] borders with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Note: UN resolution 194 (Dec. 11, 1948), Paragraph 11, states that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." While Palestinian leaders argue that Paragraph 11 guarantees the right of return for all Palestinian refugees and their offspring, Israel claims that the resolution has been misinterpreted and only calls for some refugees' return under certain conditions.