“From Refugees to Citizens at Home” (Excerpts from a new Book by Palestinian Researcher Salman Abu Sitta)

In late September 2001, a new book – From Refugees to Citizens at Home - outlining a plan for the phased return of Palestinian refugees to their homes of origin inside Israel was presented to an audience of members of Parliament, diplomats, journalists and NGOs at Westminster Hall in London. The plan, prepared by Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta, builds on previous research demonstrating the feasibility of return based on a detailed study of the demography and land use inside Israel. The book includes 27 maps/figures, illustrating the mass displacement of Palestinians between 1947 and 1949, the availability of space in the refugees’ areas of origin, and a phased plan for return, including maps of major urban areas.

The book includes several unique contributions not found in other research. This includes a set of two maps covering the northern and southern areas of Israel, which show the current built-up area and the location of Palestinian refugee villages. (See, for example, Figure 10) Careful study of the relationship between built-up areas and the location of refugee villages reveals that the return of refugees from 90% of the depopulated villages would not engender displacement or eviction of Israeli Jews. Of the remaining 10% of the villages (the study provides a list of specific villages), a slight adjustment would be required for the return of residents from 7% of these villages. Difficulties related to secondary occupation arise in only 3% of the villages.

The plan also includes a set of 13 maps outlining a 7-phase plan for the return of refugees to areas of origin inside Israel, including 10 maps providing a schematic framework for urban areas. (See, for example, Figure 15) It is estimated that 8-10 years would be required to implement all 7 stages of the plan: 1) return of registered refugees from Lebanon and Syria; 2) return of registered refugees from Gaza; 3) return of registered refugees from the West Bank; and 4) return of registered refugees from Jordan; followed by a three stage plan for the return of refugees to cities in Israel.

The location of the present built-up area shows that over 90% of the sites of Palestinian refugees remain vacant. Thick black lines define high Jewish density ‘natural regions.’ Medium lines indicate Jewish medium density and light lines indicate low Jewish density.

Figure 15 illustrates the return of refugees in the northern areas of Israel (See Figure 10 detailing built-up areas). The approximate number of registered refugees from these two areas of exile is 500,000. Refugees originate from the districts of Haifa, Acre, Tiberias, Safad and Nazareth – excluding cities (covered in phases 5-7 of the return plan). There are only a few affected villages in this area, where the village has been partially or fully built-over. The only two villages fully built-over are Tira, and Wa’arat es-Saris in the Haifa district.

The book can be ordered from the Palestinian Return Centre, 100 A Crown House, North Circular Road, London, NW10 7PN, UK. Email: [email protected]