Jean-Pierre Allali reminded his audience that all conflicts create their share of refugees. The Second World War caused 70 million refugees, that is people who left their place of origin and were unable to go back. 9 million Sikhs and Hindus left Pakistan for India in 1947, and 7 million Muslims did the reverse trip. The war in the Balkans caused an exchange of minority population groups: 1,250,000 Greeks and 500,000 Turks. During WWII, Finland lost a sizable portion of its territory, Karelia, and picked up 400,000 people. Jean-Pierre Allali also mentioned the boat people at the end of the 70’s and more recently Yugoslavia and the Sudan.
Between 1850 and 1950, there were some 150 million refugees; Palestinians represent 5% of these. Since 1950, there have been 24 million refugees; Palestinians represent 17% of these. One may legitimately question why the other refugees were integrated into their host country, while the Palestinians have kept their status as refugees among an Arab population that is very close to their identity.
Jean-Pierre Allali recalled that the Zionist idea preceded the Holocaust by many years. Jews bought land, piece by piece, in a lace where there had never been a specific state entity. Conflicts arose and solutions had to be found at an international level. Even if the resulting plan did not correspond with the expectations of the Jewish “pre-government” of the time, the solution of two States allowed the creation of a Jewish State, 2000 years after its disappearance. The Grand Mufti at the time incite the Palestinians to leave their territory once the Jews had been eliminated.
The war that followed the proclamation of the State of Israel gave it the opportunity to define its borders. Today, 20% of Israel’s population is of Palestinian origin.
We need to remember that the UN office, UNNRWA, has facilitated this situation by overstepping the rules relative to refugees. This officers considers any person who was displaced by more than two kilometres to be a Palestinian refugee! In addition, the status of Palestinian refugee is passed on from generation to generation , from father to son, which only artificially increases their number.
As a counterpoint, Jean-Pierre Allali spoke of the Jews thrown out of Muslim countries, despoiled of their land, and he showed how these refugees were able to take their fate into their own hands. In many countries, efforts have been made to get them to leave, such as in Tunisia, where a decree by President Bourguiba dissolved the Jewish community. One million people left the Arab countries for Israel. Palestinians must renounce their right to return and a viable Palestinian State must be created alongside Israel.
English
Français