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39 Harv. Int'l. L. J. 171 (1998)
Displaced Palestinians and a Right of Return

handle is hein.journals/hilj39 and id is 177 raw text is: VOLUME 39, NUMBER 1, WINTER 1998 Displaced Palestinians and a Right of Return John Quigley* These unfortunate people [the displaced Palestiniansi should not be made pawns in the negotiations for a final settlement . -Dean Rusk, December 3, 19481 Displacement of population has become a frequent item of action in international bodies in recent years. The hostilities in the Balkans provide only one example among many of military conflicts accompa- nied by flight of population.2 International pressure has compelled the development of new state practice on this issue of wartime displace- ment. The issue of population displacement has surfaced within the context of projected settlement negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (P.L.O.). These discussions are aimed at resolv- ing the outstanding Arab-Israeli issues,3 including the status of Pales- tinians displaced from their homeland as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict.4 On the displacement issue, the Palestinians5 assert a right to return, a claim to which Israel demurs. On the one end of the spec- * Professor of Law, Ohio State University. A.B., Harvard College, 1962; LL.B., Harvard Law School, 1966; M.A., Harvard University, 1966. The author is grateful fbr comments on an early draft to Professors Sally V. Mallison, W. Thomas Malison, and Abdullah Abu-Eid. The author is grateful for consultation to his colleague Professor Michael Kindred. Translations from non- English sources are by the author. Professor W. Thomas Mallison passed away shortly before the publication of this Article. The issue raised in the Article was one close to his heart. To him the Article is dedicated. 1. Summary Records of Meetings 21 September-8 December 1948, U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess., pt.1, C.1, at 909, U.N. Doc. A/C.1/SR.226 (1948). 2. See generally infra notes 244-248. 3. See Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, Sept. 13, 1993, art. 5, 32 INTL LEGAL MATS. 1525, 1529 (agreement between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization to negotiate on final status issues, including refugees). 4. This Article will use the term displaced Palestinians, rather than the more common term refugee, to refer to the this class of persons. Whereas refugee refers to people seeking asylum in another state, it is the author's contention that displaced Palestinians seek not to stay abroad but to return to their territory of origin. See, ag., Vojin Dimirrijevic, Legal Position of Palestine Refugees, 19 Rav. INT'L AF. 427 (1968) (discussion of this terminological issue). 5. For the purposes of this Article, Palestinian refers to Arabs formerly or presently inhab- iting the territory of interwar Palestine, as well as their direct descendants.

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