'Arabs should accept responsibility for Jewish refugees'

Deputy FM Daniel Ayalon urges Arab world to acknowledge historic liability for displacing Jews who once lived in Arab nations; creating Palestinian refugee problem by warring with Israel

Nir Cohen |Published: 04.03.12 , 22:26

The Foreign Ministry held a conference Tuesday, during which it presented a special report on "Jewish refugees from Arab nations."

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon urged the Arab world to recognize its historic responsibility for displacing Jews who once lived in Arab nations and making them de-facto refugees.

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"The Arab League must accept responsibility and recognize that they are the ones who caused the displacement of Jews from Arab countries," he said.

Ayalon further said that Arab nations should acknowledge their own role in creating Palestinian refugees, displaced by their wars with Israel.

The deputy foreign minister added that Israel will insist that Palestinian refugees will be absorbed in the future Palestinian state alone – the same way Jewish refugees were absorbed in the State of Israel.

"Today, about 50% of Israelis are refugees and descendants of refugees from those Arab nations. They have assimilated completely and have contributed to Israel's inception and advancement."

Ayalon added: "Just like the State of Israel took in the Jewish refugees, the Arab refugees who left Mandate-era Palestine should be afforded the same treatment."

The premise, he added, "Is doubly true in light of the Palestinian Authority's inception and the fact that its existence does not justify the existence of the Arab refugee camps."