Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Donna E. Arzt

December 1997

Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab–Israeli Conflic,a provocative and timely new book by Syracuse University international law professor Donna E. Arzt, offers an unprecedented blueprint for resolving what is often called the "last taboo" in the Arab–Israeli peace negotiations: a just and permanent solution to the problem of over three million Palestinian refugees. This book represents the first comprehensive effort to place the inclusion and dignity of Palestinian refugees at the core of creating a viable and lasting peace in the region.

Arzt blends traditional academic scholarship with practical policy prescription: the end of the Middle East conflict can only be achieved when all Palestinian refugees are offered dual citizenship, compensation for lost property, and/or voluntary absorption options in either a future state of Palestine, other Arab states in the region, the broader international community, or, on family reunification grounds, repatriation in Israel. Arzt argues that compensation should be based on a "no fault"assumption, and that all involved parties share equal responsibility for refugee absorption.

Donna E. Arzt is professor of international law at Syracuse University and associate director of the school's Center for Global Law and Practice. She served as project director of the Council on Foreign Relations study group, "The Shape of the Arab–Israel Settlement: Humanitarian and Demographic Issues, " and has published extensively on the subject of human rights.

"This is an excellent piece of work, the first that I know of that is such a comprehensive examination of the Palestine refugee issue. Arzt covers most aspects of the problem including its historical background, origins, causes, current refugee status, positions of the various parties involved, and possible 'solutions.'...{I}t is a valuable contribution that will be useful to both specialists in the field of Middle East and refugee studies as well as to generalists."

—Don Peretz, SUNY Binghamton

"This compact book brilliantly summarizes both the history of and the law governing the status of millions of Palestinian refugees. It offers a workable plan for turning these refugees into citizens, a part of a comprehensive settlement of the Arab–Israeli conflict. I recommend it to expert and lay readers alike."

—Rita E. Hauser, International Lawyer

"Donna Arzt's innovative and substantial proposal for resolving the complex Palestinian refugee issue challenges us to act on the basis that inclusion, reconciliation, compromise, dignity, and belonging are important ingredients in a search for a viable, concrete, legal, and lasting resolution to seemingly intractable refugee problems at conflict's end."

—Judy Mayotte, author, Disposable People?: The Plight of Refugees