Israel’s refusal to grant Palestinian refugees the right to return has fuelled seven decades of suffering, international rights group Amnesty International said in a statement released today.
Marking Nakba Day, when Palestinians remember the ethnic cleansing conducted by Israeli forces in 1948, Amnesty urged Israeli authorities to respect the Palestinians’ right of return.
On the #Nakba71, @amnesty called on citizens of the world to 'show solidarity' with millions of Palestinian refugees denied the right of return // #Palestine #NakbaDay https://t.co/FPBs32bKuu
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) May 15, 2019
The statement said:
“Israel’s failure to respect the right to return for Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes in 1948 is a flagrant violation of international law that has fuelled decades of suffering on a mass scale for Palestinian refugees across the region.”
Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
“More than 70 years after the conflict that followed Israel’s creation, the Palestinian refugees who were forced out of their homes and dispossessed of their land as a result continue to face the devastating consequences.”
The RIGHT of return is not a radical idea, but a given for refugees who were forced to leave their homes due to conflict or natural disaster. It is a human right, codified in law. See how applicable to Palestinian refugees, @amnesty position at link. https://t.co/NebwDs7dom pic.twitter.com/BDtLCAOtkP
— AIUSA Israel/OPT/PA (@IOTPA) May 15, 2019
He added:
“There can be no lasting solution to the Palestinian refugee crisis until Israel respects Palestinian refugees’ right to return.”
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
