BADIL's Publications

Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 2006-2007

English, 204 pages
Size: A4
by: BADIL Resource Center

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Preface, Executive Summary, Recommendations, Glossary and Abbreviations
Chapter One: From the Nakba to the Present Day: Ongoing Displacement
Chapter Two: Population Numbers, Distribution and Characteristics
Chapter Three: Assistance
Chapter Four: Protection
Chapter Five: Politics and the Question of Palestinian Refugees and IDPs

Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP) are the largest and longest-standing unresolved case of refugees and displaced persons in the world. In 2006-2007, there were appoximately 7 million Palestinian refugees and 450,000 internally displaced Palestinians representing 70 percent of the entire Palestinian population worldwide (10.1 million). The legal status of some 400,000 additional Palestinians is unclear, but they too are likely to be refugees. The forced displacement of Palestinians, both refugee and non-refugees is ongoing in the OPT and Israel as well as in some host countries, in particular in Iraq and Lebanon.

Displacement in 2006-2007 occurred as a result of Israel's war on Lebanon (16,000 refugees displaced), the events surrounding the destruction of Nahr el-Bared camp (31,000 refugees displaced) in Lebanon and the persecution faced by Palestinian refugees in occupied Iraq (over 15,000 refugees displaced). These recent events highlight the lack of protection of Palestinian refugees and the need for rights-based durable solutions.

Right-based solutions are not, however, on the agenda of the international 'peace conference' to be held in November. This conference will likely not address the root causes of the conflict; hence, perpetuating the conditions which have led to the massacres and the forced displacement of Palestinians. In the absence of a search for durable solutions based on their right to reparations, including return and restitution, on the part of much of the international community and the United Nations, Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have ensured their own protection by attempting to effect these rights by themselves.

Detailed findings about the current situation of Palestinian refugees and IDPs can be found in the Badil Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 2006-2007. The Survey endeavors to address the lack of information or misinformation about Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons, and to counter political arguments which suggest that the issue of Palestinian refugees and IDPs can be resolved outside the realm of international law and practice applicable to all refugee and displaced populations.

- To order Hardcopies of the 2006-2007 Survey (10€) please contact admin@badil.org or use the electronic purchase option at http://www.badil.org/paypal/publications.htm

Returning to Kafr Bir'im

English, 120 pages
Size: 16*25 c.m.
Publisher: BADIL Resource Center
Research and lead author: Nihad Boai'

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BADIL 's new booklet features the story of the protracted struggle of the Palestinian residents of Kafr Bir'im for return to their village in the Upper Galilee which they were forced to leave in 1948.

In 120 pages, the booklet recounts key events, achievements, obstacles and failures of this struggle through the oral and written narratives of a community who gives a vibrant example of the Palestinian people's quest for ending the Nakba (catastrophe) and injustice almost 60 years on.

The booklet consists of five chapters. The first chapter covers the beginning of the displacement and subsequent developments; the second outlines the displaced villagers' legal struggle in the the Israeli courts, while the third chapter describes their efforts in the Israeli political arena and the media. The forth chapter focuses on the activities of the displaced in their depopulated and destroyed village, including renovation of the village' church, religious ceremonies, wedding and funerals, and the fifth chapters features the individual memories and initiatives in the field of arts.

Maps, photos, and documents are included in order to illustrate the story of the Kafr Bir'im displaced

Closing Protection Gaps: Handbook on Protection of Palestinian Refugees in States Signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention

English, 488 pages
Size: 16.5*23
ISSN 9950-339-00-6
by: BADIL Resource Center, August 2005

The Handbook was first presented to the public at the 2005 annual UNHCR NGO Consultations held in Geneva in September. It is intended to serve as a practical guide for refugee experts, lawyers, judges, UNHCR offices, national authorities, NGOs and others who are involved in asylum claims submitted by Palestinian refugees.

The Handbook addresses problems and protection gaps facing Palestinian refugees who seek protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention and/or the 1954 Stateless Convention in third countries outside the Arab world. It aims to strengthen implementation of legal protection standards applicable to Palestinian refugees, in particular the rights embodied in Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Findings of the Handbook are based on comparative research conducted in 23 countries. Research was led by Elna Sondergaard, BADIL legal consultant, in 2003 – 2004. UNWRA and UNHCR, refugee laywers, and national immigration/asylum authorities worldwide provided valuable input. The preface was contributed by Prof. Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, University of Oxford. Download & See PDF Version>>>

Displacement by the Wall - Forced Displacement as a Result of the West Bank Wall and its Associated Regime,

Bethlehem & Geneva, September 2006

housands of Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes as a direct result of the Wall built by Israel in occupied East Jerusalem. Many more may be forced to leave as fundamental rights and freedoms are violated on a massive scale. These are conclusions from a study published today by BADIL Resource Center and the Norwegian Refugee Council's International Displacement Monitoring Centre.

The study (1) was presented today in Geneva where the UN Human Rights Council has convened for its second session. Prof. John Dugard, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories joined the panel presentation. Download & See PDF Version>>>

Jerusalem 1948,The Arab Neighborhoods of the City and their Fate in the War
(co-published with the Institute of Jerusalem Studies), English and Arabic

Abstract:

This book covers the history of Arab Jerusalem in the twentieth century and the events and consequences of the 1948 war. In particular, it focuses on the displacement of the Arab neighborhoods in what became known as "West Jerusalem" and examines assessments of Palestinian property in West Jerusalem and possibilities for restitution. Unique to this volume are a variety of photographs and previously unpublished maps, including a coloured, fold-out map of property ownership in Jerusalem prior to 1948, and an analysis of the UNCCP records of land ownership in the city.

The book also contains original ethnographic material about the social history of the city and data on the military campaigns during the war derived from Zionist and Palestinian Arab sources.

Second Revised Edition
2002
304 Pages
ISBN: 9953-9001-9-1

Ruling Palestine. A History of the Legally Sanctioned Jewish-Israeli Seizure of Land and Housing in Palestine.

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Written and prepared by Souad R. Dajani
Publishers: COHRE & BADIL,
May 2005;
Language: English,
242 pages.

The main focus of this study is the methodical process underlying the Zionist conquest of Palestine and the dispossession and displacement of its indigenous Arab inhabitants, in particular legal instruments and policies relating to colonisation and land acquisition. This process is measured against the standards of relevant international law and UN resolutions.

The study is a resource and reference tool for researchers, journalists, legal experts, human rights advocates and policy makers.