Resettling Palestinians

Found an interesting article on the site of MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute).



http://memri.org/



It is an editorial by an Arab intellectual, who argues that Palestinians should be resettled in the countries in which they live (where almost all of them were born), and that the sooner the Arab world ceases the angry rhetoric and faces up to reality, the better.

Israel will not go away, and fanning the flames of anti-Semitism and extremism in miserable refugee camps will not better the lot of the average "Palestinian".



http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP248309



Objecting to Refugee Resettlement Is Objecting to Peace

"Objecting to resettlement is no different than objecting to peace. It is nothing but an unrealistic slogan. The Arabs have agreed to peace, although they realize that there cannot be peace without resettlement. But they disregard this fact, viewing the refugee issue as a point of controversy, when it is a central and key issue in the peace process."
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"Arabs who object to the resettlement plan contend that they are motivated by their zealous devotion to the Right of Return. But they have not lifted a finger to keep this right alive in the consciousness of the Palestinian 'detainees' in the camps of abasement. As a result, this spurious devotion has evoked the opposite reaction: a Palestinian now hopes to emigrate to America, Europe, Canada, or Australia in order to escape the hell of the Palestinian refugee camps, which have played a part in killing his will to live. "

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"It follows that resettlement is underway, despite slogans promoting the Right of Return that have become an part of the speeches of these countries' politicians.

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"[The host countries] must open up the refugee camps, which are not fit for human [habitation]. ... (and) make it possible for Palestinians to work... "

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"Opposition to resettlement is specious; it is tantamount to the slow murder of the Palestinians…"

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From a subsequent article, quoted on the some page:


"These countries must stop treating the Palestinians like a plague, using slogans which, as we all know, have become nothing but empty utterances in a loathsome struggle. We must break the isolation of the Palestinians in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. A Palestinian should be made to feel like a welcome and dear guest – before some external intervention comes along and grants him the right to live in dignity, to everyone's consternation. "

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This is something that deserves to be disseminated widely.



There are so many Palestinians who already live in the United States, have built a future here, send their children to school here, and have become citizens.



I would like to ask: why are we (the US) doing more for the Palestinians than their own people? Why can a 'Palestinian' organize and demonstrate on the streets of San Francisco, in complete safety and freedom, when doing so in Lebanon or Jordan would get them shot?

Why do Arabs hate Palestinians?