the 'right' of return is the main obstacle for peace. if the palestinians would face reality and accept the fact it will never happen, there might be more of a chance for peace. but, they are free to be stubborn. and perpetual refugees.

http://www.jewish-history.com/Palestine/

in the West Bank and the Golan that were destroyed by invading Jordanian and Syrian forces respectively.

Mabey we should agree on a right of retourn for the so called pals, as soon as the moslem countries agree to the right of return of the Jews kicked out of their countries, and offer them full citezenship as Israel does for its arab citizens.

Israel should stop being so concerned about world opinion and acceptance. The world will always side with Israel's enemies and this is nothing new. The Islamic world is in for a major terminal head butt from above. One thing Israel must always remember is that with God Israel is a majority and has no need of false and dubious ally's.

Ben-Gurio made it VERY CLEAR that every Arab and Muslim is recommended and welcomed to stay in Israel and to take part in building a peaceful society where arabs live alongside jews with same rights. 400.000 arabs decided not to do that and listened to their Imams and religious leaders, which told them to escape and flee their homes, because the jews will kill them. they were not expelled nor did they have to flee. it was their free will to give up their homes. this fact should be noted!

Like Gosh-Katif...where is it now? soon Tel-Aviv and your Yorshaliem will go back to its original names

I am not saying that 4 millions palestinians should be allowed to come back to Israel as clearly many will decide to stay where thet are, go to a third country or return to the palestinian state. However, Israel has a moral obligation(and a legal one under UN resolutions) to allow some back, perhaps the ones in Lebanon and Syria who hold no citizenships and in particular need of humanitarian help. Also, jews who were expelled from arab counries should be allowed to go back if they wish. Daniel, the jew with a conscience

This all sounds wonderful, but never, ever forget that no country has ever had to deal with aggrieved expelled people from wars that were DEFENSIVE and caused by intrasnigence (i.e for refusing to accept the partition plan) on the part of the AGGRESSORS. Never, ever forget that, while this Derby guy might be a moderate and not a Hamas supporter, his forefathers still supported Hitler in WWII, through their conduit, Grand Mufti al-Husseini. No peoples who sided with the Axis in WWII have ever gotten so much attention, aid and sympathy.

All this reflection is quaint but irrelevent. Arabs attacked the Jewish State in 1948. Arabs took over the Arab dominated villages in 1948 and Arabs told the local residents to leave. The idea being they would return when the Jews were removed. Guess what? We're still here! We won that war like we will win all future wars. There could be thousands of former arab villiages just like if we go back to more ancient times there were thousands of Jewish villiages and cities. Each time Arabs have made war since 1948 they have lost land, through voluntary abandonment or capture in battle. Why should Israel EVER allow Arabs the right of return? They can ask that of Jordan. It was part of Palestine. The problem is the Arabs do not want to return they want to evict.They even tried to overthrow the Hashemite Kingdom in Jordan...for which they were expelled from the only land on earth they can rightfully claim as a Palestinian State. The fact that Israel has tried to negotiate a new Palestinian State and been attacked for doing so both from within and from the Arabs with whom they attempted negotiations proves their willingness to see peace at almost any cost. The cost just comes too high when it means the destruction of Israel or indefensible borders. It is time the Arabs claiming Palestinian ancestry took charge of their destiny and accepted the smaller version of a two state solution. It is time they stopped asking for rights they do not have. It is time they faced the reality of needing to build rather than destroy. Perhaps when a generation of peace exists then 'rights' can be re-evaluated. Currently Israel already has to deal with the enemy from within. It should not have to deal with exacerbating that problem

Wait - didnt israel once live on this land - way before the palestinians? All muslims agree that the dome of the rock is built on judaisms holiest site.

I think it's hilarious all you friars out there believe people are who they say they are and are from the locales they claim to be from

Daniel, according to the UNCHR, only those who are born in a place and forced to leave are considered refugees. It is UNWRA that has declared even the descendants of the Palestinian refugees also refugees. Am I a refugee because my mother was forced to leave Morocco because of anti-Jewish violence before I was born?

The UN does not support a "right of return." The General Assembly wrote resolution 194 which says that refugees may choose between compensation and return from homes vacated in war, but the General Assembly's resolutions are recommendations and not subject to international law like security council resolutions. Morally, Israel also has no burden since it was attacked in 1948.

we left a lot more when we were forced to go from arabic places and there is no way in hell tht they will get any right of return they better get used to it cause we r still here and fighting

Get over the shock, because I will not dissapoint. I will gladly accept them, aslong as they fit under the UNHCR definition. The UNRWA definition is racists, and completely unfair. It holds apartheid like status, giving rights that no other group has and never has deserved. You aren't a refugee of the 1948 war if you were born yesterday, yet the UNRWA allows this happen. At most Israel would have to take is 200,000 elderly to middle aged people. Israel is not responsible for their decendents.

It is a fact that Israel destroyed hundreds of Arab villages after 1948. In many cases Israel changed the names to Torah ones so that they can be forgotten by future Palestinian generations.Only one or two Jewish settlement were destroyded in 1948.

Nobody says anymore that some arabs were not expelled by the israelis in 1948. It is well documented, for instance in Lod or the northern galilee.

Another one of the widely accepted lies is that Arabs were expelled or forced out before and during the 48 war. This is a twisting of the truth that has been repeated so many times that it has become reality. The real truth is the majority of Arabs living in Palestine (now recognized by the UN as Israel) before the war left on their own because they were listening to their Arab leaders' advice. Anyone who refutes this is a propagandist: http://www.jewishstudentscanada.ca/voice/story10.html

Another weak PC liberal lefty Jew secretly wishing to walk quietly into the shower room...daydreaming of all the non-Jews that will pity and mourn him.

Before discussing the Palestinian "right of return," Israeli forces must withdraw to the pre-1967borders to begin a peace process. It is the accepted borders for the Palestinians by the Palestinians. Currently, the apartheid situation with the settlements (all are illegal) in the West Bank is unacceptable and the Israeli Army overreacts brutally to Palestinian harrassment. Both sides, Israelis and Palestinians must be condemned for their actions. The US is too biased in the region as Israeli forces are dangerously raiding Gaza and Lebanon. The Jewish lobby group AIPAC has too much influence over the US government and media in regards to foreign policy in the Middle East. Israel may be a democracy, but it is only for one specific religion and ethnic group.

Google is a product of two Jewish geniuses. Why would they allow such surfer to create images that harm Israel?

Hey one sol, you want Jerusalem to have it's original name? It's been called Jerusalem for over 3,500 years! LOL You've really made a fool of yourself now.

mike(currently an israeli jew or for short a zionist) your bias is disgusting, why should palestinians relinquish their right of return or just forget their place of origin and on the other hand zionists and religious freaks like you would replace them and reside on the ruins of their homes. Palestine will never be forgetten, Palestinians will relentlessly keep perpetualy struggling to get back their homes and lands. Mike my advise go back to the US, my recommedation go back to Bisbee Arizona and take with you your fake arab christian wife and her family today before tomorrow.

You are right. My point was that 400.000 arabs chose to leave their homes on arabic countries demand. not israeli. there are clearly facts, that other arabs had to be removed from security-sensitiv areas. there is no doubt in that. i just wanted to make sure, that not 800.000 arabs were thrown out of their homes.

Hey, #19, Thanks for quoting from that document. I am the guy who put it together. No doubt there were some who were pushed out, but the vast majority simply made the wrong decision, based on greed, hatred, and fear.

They cannot accept reality!

Well said for standing up to the Arab-hating US citizen Mike, who claims to "understand" the Arabs because he is married to one. It is so strange that the mere mention of the eradicated/demolished/bulldozed Palestinian villages engenders such hostile responses. It is almost as if the truth is far too much for people to bear - and if Mike were to deal with the facts on teh ground (i.e. hundreds of eradicated Palestinian villages) he would have to question many of the big questions in his life. What a poor, miserable woman to have to put up with a husband who denies her very existence. Allah yarhumhuma