Thursday, May 15, 2008

Riz Khan - Palestinian 'Right to return.



One of the reasons that the Israel/Palestine conflict is so intractable is because some of Israel's supporters seem to think that the subject of international law simply doesn't apply to them. Here, Arnon Soffer had a valid point when he says that compensation might be one way to solve the Palestinian refugee problem, as the UN demands either "compensation or repatriation" for the refugees. However, it's quite an insane plan to ask that the Arab nations find this money, as it was not the other Arab nations who brought about their present plight, it was the Israeli forces in 1948.

It's also worth remembering that the rights of displaced persons are rights adhering to them as individuals, these are not collective rights that can be negogiated on their behalf. But, of course, as Soffer makes quite clear, he is not willing to even concede that international law applies here, calling the very idea "suicide".

Hat tip to The Largest Minority.

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