Palestinian Refugees

The Right of Return

Edited by Naseer Aruri

Publication date:

20 July 2001

Length of book:

312 pages

Publisher

Pluto Press

ISBN-13: 9781849641173

With contributions from a range of international experts, including Edward W. Said, Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappe, Alain Gresh and Norman Finkelstein, this collection examines the Palestinians' right of return.

Chapters cover the historical roots of the Palestinian refugee question; the rights of the refugees under international law; the special case of Lebanon; Israeli perceptions of the refugee question; the practical feasibility of the return; the role of the United States and the European Union and the Refugee Question; the value of the refugee property; the principles of compensation; and a programme for an Independent Rights Campaign.

Preface
Elaine C. Hagopian
Introduction: The Right of Return at Last by Edward W. Said
PART I: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
1. The Right to Expel:The Bible and Ethnic Cleansing by Michael Prior
2. The Historical Roots of the Palestinian Refugee Question by Nur Masalha
PART II: THE INTERESTS OF THE MAJOR ACTORS
3. Israeli Perceptions of the Refugee Question by Ilan Pappe
4. The United States and the Refugee Question by Noam Chomsky
5. The European Union and the Refugee Question by Alain Gresh
6. The Palestine Liberation Organization: From the Right of Return to Bantustan by Jaber Suleiman
PART III: RETURN OR PERMANENT EXILE
7. Return or Permanent Exile? by Joseph Massad
8. The Obligations of Host Countries to Refugees under International Law: The Case of Lebanon by Wadie Said
9. Meeting the Needs of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon by Nahla Ghandour
PART IV: REFUGEE CLAIMS AND THE SEARCH FOR A JUST SOLUTION
10. Reinterpreting Palestinian Refugee Rights underInternational Law by Susan Akram
11. The Right of Return: Sacred, Legal and Possible by Salman Abu-Sitta
12. Deconstructing the Link: Palestinian Refugees and Jewish Immigrants from Arab Countries by Jan Abu Shakrah
13. Valuing Palestinian Losses in Today's Dollars by Atif Kubursi
14. A Programme for an Independent Rights Campaign by Ingrid Jaradat Gassner
15. Towards Convening a Congress of Return and Self-Determination by Naseer Aruri
16. Lessons of Holocaust Compensation by Norman G. Finkelstein
Index

'An indispensable resource for everyone committed to finding a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict'