Topic: The Palestinian Community in Israel: Absentees’
Property and Permanent Status
Concept Paper
Re: Annual Ambassadorial Study Day
On May 1-3 1998 Ittijah sponsored a Partners Field
Tour with participants from various international
embassies and donor agencies. The aim of the tour
was to draw attention to the unique situation that
the Palestinian Arab community faces as an unrecognized
national minority, and to show the facts from a Palestinian
minority viewpoint. The Tour focused on discriminatory
policy, marginalization and the difficulties in enjoying
the resources of the State as citizens of the State.
The tour also displayed the achievements of various
NGOs that work in planning and land issues, unrecognized
and uprooted villages, health, women’s status,
and community-based associations, in addition to addressing
the policies of Donor’s regarding funding and
financial issues.
During the last year, Ittijah and its member organizations
held several meetings and tours for various embassies
including American, German, Norwegian, Canadian, and
the EU. Since then, Ittijah has come to play the role
of information source on the Palestinian community.
Further, as a result of the success that these study
days have generated, Ittijah intends to institutionalize
these relationships through an Annual Ambassadorial
Study Day.
It seems that the Wye River Accords signed by the
previous government will be implemented in the near
future, and with the latest agreement the stage is
set for Permanent Status negotiations between Israel
and the Palestinian Authority. As we all know too
well the most important and sensitive issue in the
history of the Palestinian people is that of land
and refugees. With Permanent Status approaching, Ittijah
is suggesting a new study day on the issue of Absentees’
Property. As the umbrella organization of many NGOs,
Ittijah sees itself in an appropriate position to
suggest a Study Day on this particular topic since
it is directly relevant to the work of its member
organizations, specifically dealing with land, the
uprooted, Islamic Waqf property and internal refugees.
The Absentees’ Property Law defines persons
who were expelled, fled, or who left the country between
1948-1952, mainly due to the 1948 War, as well as
their movable and immovable property, as absentee.
Property belonging to absentees (mainly land, apartments
and bank accounts) was put under control of the Custodian
for Absentees’ Property, subordinate to the
State of Israel (Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab
Minority Rights in Israel 1998). Since 1948, all Absentee
properties, including properties of the Islamic Waqf,
have been under a series of transfers that place them
under various authorities culminating in a process
of privatization. Through this process, the ownership
of these lands will be formally transferred from the
State to kibbutzim, moshavim and private companies,
without state control.
In real numbers, the creation of the State of Israel
displaced some 700,000 Palestinians of whom 100,000
remained on the land and were naturalized as Israeli
citizens. Further, some 32,000 Palestinians were internally
displaced and prevented from returning to their land,
although they are/were Israeli citizens (Badil Resource
Center). As a result of the 1967 War, hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians became refugees, many for
a second time, and most have not been allowed to exercise
their right of return. Today, Palestinians constitute
the largest group of refugees in the world at approximately
5 million.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 states
that "compensation should be paid for the property
of those not choosing to return and for loss or damage
to property which, under principles of international
law or in equity, should be made good by the governments
or authorities responsible." Compensation is
viewed as an integral part to the solution of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, there is sure
to be a disagreement on the amounts of compensation
and those eligible to receive them.
Although the Oslo Accords and the subsequent Wye
River Agreement do not take into consideration the
Palestinian minority located in Israel, the issues
of refugees, Absentees’ Property and compensation
are of direct concern and relevance to them. How then
will Palestinian citizens in Israel incorporate their
demands into the Permanent Status agreement, since
the negotiations are the only current forum for discussing
these issues? To date, the Israeli government uses
privatization to change its function from a landholder
directly responsible for Absentees property and confiscated
land. Instead, ownership is transferred into private
hands, i.e. individuals or agencies. This way the
State will defend private ownership of Jewish citizens
or entities, preventing any concessions to Palestinian
citizens or refugees inside the Green Line. Thus,
confiscated Palestinian land cannot be utilized as
the basis for implementing the Right of Return. Further,
any unutilized land that belongs to internal refugees
is legally restricted by the State. Does the Palestinian
Authority have the justification to negotiate on behalf
of the Palestinian minority? How will the permanent
status negotiations address the whole Palestinian
population, in Israel, the Arab world, and the Diaspora?
Will Palestinian citizens of Israel receive compensation
for their losses under a Permanent Status agreement
or is the issue to be discussed as an internal Israeli
domestic matter? The fact that the Palestinian minority
is not part of the negotiations means that we need
to push the issue to the forefront in order to raise
local and international public awareness. Further,
as this is an extremely complex topic we feel that
the international community should contribute to the
debate.
From our point of view, Absentee lands are the basis
for absorbing any Palestinian refugees and implementing
the Right of Return. The fact that most land is confiscated
and the lack of participation by Palestinian citizens
in this debate is a hindrance to the overall development
process of Palestinian society in Israel. We feel
that this problem is not an internal Israeli issue,
as human rights and equality are universal standards,
but rather a crucial part of the Palestinian–Israeli
conflict and its resolution. However, privatization
effectively turns Absentee Property into an internal
Israeli matter even though it is directly related
to the refugee issue, a central component of the permanent
status negotiations. This brief description seeks
to show the importance and sensitivity of the issue
of Absentee Property and compensation and how it cannot
be solved in the Supreme Court, accountable to Israeli
Laws, or in the Knesset and should therefore be resolved
during Permanent Status negotiations. Further, the
Palestinians in Israel need the support of the international
community.
Ittijah will take this opportunity to invite you
to participate in a Study Day on Absentees Property,
compensation and the Permanent Status negotiations
as they pertain to the Palestinian minority. The study
day will provide a forum for discussing the issue
and possible strategies or approaches in confronting
it. The day will bring together experts on the issue
including politicians, lawyers and individual activists
and a small field tour will also be held to show the
fact on the ground. Those invited to participate will
be diplomatic corps with NGOs and leaders of the Arab
community including Local Council heads and representatives
of Arab political parties. We expect that this topic
will be interesting and important to Ambassadors as
they follow-up current developments in the negotiations
and attempt to link them with the Palestinians located
in Israel.
Palestinians in Israel
and Permanent Status
Speech given by Ameer Makhoul
Both Palestinians and Israelis are eager to achieve
a lasting peace. The Palestinian NGO sector inside
Israel is also eager for a just peace. But we believe
that a just peace must take into account all of the
problems associated with the conflict. The peace process
must consider the consequences of the Palestinian
problem from 1948 and not focus only on the results
of the 1967 War. We believe that a permanent solution
of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must address all
of the accompanying problems, not only a part of them.
A comprehensive solution must be based on the right
to self-determination of both peoples and a solution
to all the problems that are a result of the 1948
War.
Today, the remaining issues of the conflict that
need to be resolved include the status of Jerusalem,
the question of Israeli settlers, the distribution
of rights to water and the problem of the Palestinian
refugees. Yet among these fundamental issues, the
status of the Palestinian minority in Israel must
also be addressed. Raising the issue of the Palestinians
in Israel may appear to make matters more complicated,
but a just peaceful solution must be conveyed to the
Palestinian people not only in the near future, but
also in the long-term. What is not addressed now will
only be postponed until later. As a national minority
numbering over one million, as part of the citizens
of Israeli in general, as an integral part of the
Palestinian people, and as victims of a long and difficult
conflict, it is our responsibility to introduce you
to our point of view. This is the point of view of
the Palestinian national minority inside of Israel.
There have been two main reactions in the Palestinian
community inside Israel to the changing circumstances
since the signing of the Oslo Accords. The first reaction
is individual and integrative. Palestinians, while
remaining on the margins of Israeli society, attempt
to assimilate into Israeli society as best they can.
Those who believe in this approach are attempting
to influence the social position of Palestinians through
individual actions. They are trying to become decision
makers in Israeli politics or to blend society. I
do not believe that this approach can be successful
in creating the necessary mobility within Israeli
society for effective social change. There are important
structural elements in the institutional composition
of the Israeli state that get in the way of the ability
of Palestinians to effectively exercise their political
position in Israel. The hiring policy of Israeli government
companies is a good example. There are very few Palestinians
working in government companies. This is because of
hiring practices that require military service. As
Palestinians, we are unable to serve in the military
and cannot work for these companies.
The second reaction to the Oslo Accords has been
collective and activist. It focuses on the group rights
of Palestinians as a national minority inside Israel.
I believe that this approach can be effective in bringing
about the changes in Israel that we need. It is important
to stress that Palestinian minority rights in Israel
are human rights that are being violated. The human
rights of the Palestinian minority cannot be reduced
to an internal Israeli issue. Indeed, Palestinian
minority rights are connected to the final status
negotiations. This is because we are a part of the
Palestinian people as a whole. WWed;lkjasdf;lkj We
need to be given guarantees that will ensure our equal
status in Israel. Un
The issue of our rights has not been put on the final
status agenda. We are neglected by both the Israeli
government and the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli
government has no interest in representing our needs.
It employs a legally sanctioned discriminatory policy
that undermines our rights. The Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) does not have the ability to represent
our needs since, as a result of the Oslo accords,
they can only represent Palestinians in the West Bank
and Gaza. The two main groups marginalized as a result
of the current agreements between Israel and the PNA
are the Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinian
refugees in the Diaspora, especially inhabitants of
refugee camps in Lebanon.
Our rights to live as normal citizens inside of Israel
are seriously constrained by the nature of the Israeli
state. We face discrimination daily. The main threat
that we face is the definition of Israel as a Jewish
state. The result of this definition is discrimination
against the non-Jewish (Arab). This discrimination
is structural. It is embedded in both the formal and
informal institutions of the state. In many cases,
this discrimination is legally sanctioned. Adalah:
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
conducted a study that found 20 laws that discriminate
against the Arab citizens of Israel. These laws include
immigration laws, the Israeli citizenship law, the
absentee property law and laws about land ownership,
housing and internally displaced refugees. A larger
problem is that confrontation through the courts and
the Knesset is seen by many Israelis as a challenge
to the essential nature of the Jewish state.
As a result of this difficulty in making our case
inside of Israel, there is a need for collective action
on our part. The Palestinian community in Israel needs
to build its organizations to face the challenges
before us. But we also need to draw the attention
of the international community to the violations of
minority rights and gain your support. This is not
a normal minority situation. We are citizens of a
foreign state in our own land. There are two fundamental
challenges that we face as a result of this unfortunate
situation. First, we are struggling to achieve equality
as citizens in Israel. Issues that face us here include
equal representation in budgets, service provision,
and development opportunities for our community. We
are also struggling with a second fundamental challenge.
This challenge comes from the violations that are
a result of our national conflict. The most important
issues here are the problems of internally displaced
Palestinian refugees and absentee property laws. These
two challenges, our equality as citizens and the question
of our dispossession, are not the same. Achieving
equality in budget decisions does not ensure that
internal refugees will be given the opportunity to
return to their lands, villages and cities.
There is a consensus in Israel against allowing the
Right of Return. There is also a consensus that Arab
political parties and their representatives cannot
hold decision-making positions in the Knesset or other
government bodies. The only role that Arab MKs play
in the peace process is that of support, through their
votes, of all agreements that are signed by the PNA
and Israel. This support is given even if the agreements
are not made on a just basis. The only issues where
we can voice serious opposition are those relating
to the national Zionist consensus, and in these discussions,
we cannot influence the decisions made.
Issues like the right of return and absentee property
are important for more than political reasons. These
issues affect our communities on a personal level
since the majority of Palestinians have family members
that are refugees or claim land that has been confiscated.
Palestinian absentees do not have a state that will
advocate on their behalf. The negotiations between
Israel and the PNA are based on a balance of power
that is clearly to the advantage of Israel. Thus on
a very personal level, we face isolation both in terms
of our political power inside Israel, and our separation
from the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories
and refugees.
As a result, we are feeling an increased level of
frustration since the signing of the Oslo accords.
In spite of all the hopes and eagerness for peace,
we feel that our dream of a just peace was broken
in 1993. We also feel that the interests of the Palestinian
people have since come into conflict. The post-Oslo
consciousness is reflected in our increased isolation
and our political inability to be a part of the final
status agenda. In addition, this has resulted in other
tensions within the Palestinian community, like the
rise of sectarianism that we see today in Nazareth.
Yet, the Palestinians in Israel have made many great
efforts in recent years towards developing the tools
to confront the many challenges ahead. The Palestinian
NGO sector and the other components of civil society
are very important in this effort. To build our institutions
is a minority right. We do not wish to threaten others.
We want to fulfill our needs by exercising our rights.
Yet building civil society continues to be difficult.
For example, the state of Israel now holds the Islamic
Waqf land under the control of the Prime Minister’s
office. This land is being sold and privatized. This
property belongs to our community. Our community is
not absent. This land is the physical infrastructure
for the development of the Palestinian community in
the future.
The work of Palestinian civil society is vital for
our needs. But our rights are not on the final status
agenda. We need help from the international community
to get our rights on the agenda. For better or worse,
the international community has been involved in the
conflict over Palestine since the beginning of this
century. Because of this past, and because of the
growing sense of a developing community of nations,
we are looking to you, to work to ensure a just basis
for the resolution of the conflict. Absentee property
and the right of return cannot continue to be issues
whose outcome depends on the balance of power between
the PNA and Israel. The international community needs
to be involved in these issues to ensure a just foundation
for peace. We hope that these efforts would be made
in accordance with the principles that constitute
the international community. These are the principles
set up by the resolutions of the United Nations, human
rights covenants and increased global interdependence.
In conclusion, I would like to stress that these
are difficult but hopeful times. The Palestinian community
throughout the world is hoping for a just and meaningful
resolution of the conflict. But a just peace can only
succeed in the long run if our rights are taken seriously
in these negotiations. The legal discrimination that
we face today is a result of our connection to the
rest of our people. The opposition we face in the
Israeli establishment against the right of return
and absentee property is something that we cannot
face alone. Our minority rights and status are not
an internal Israeli issue since we are a part of the
larger Palestinian nation. They are also an international
issue because human rights are a global concern. Because
of our unique position as citizens of a state that
is working against our interests, and because of our
separation from the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories,
we appeal to the international community to help us.
We look forward to your understanding. We hope to
develop a dialogue through which we can create mechanisms
for ensuring Palestinian rights. With your help, we
can address the rights of the Palestinian community
inside Israel in the final status negotiations. Your
help will ensure a lasting and just peace.
December 7, 1999 |