Hamas opens for ceasefire. But one of the demands is impossible for Israel to agree to.

For over 75 years, Palestinian refugees have left negotiators scratching their heads. Now Hamas has put the question on the table again.

For the first time in a long time, on Thursday there was a sign of progress in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas:

Hamas says it is willing to enter into a long-term ceasefire with Israel. At the weekend, the group confirmed that they have the ceasefire draft for consideration. And on Monday they will send a delegation to Cairo to discuss it, a Hamas source says, according to NTB. The group also says it will lay down its arms and become a political party if the Palestinians get their own state.

Already there the difficulties appear. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that giving the Palestinians a separate state is out of the question. At the same time, the United States is working hard to start negotiations on one two-state solution two-state solutionA proposed solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict in which two independent states are established: one Jewish (Israel) and one Arab (Palestine). again.

But one demand from Hamas in particular will probably be impossible for Israel to agree to. It is about Palestinian refugees’ right to return.

What is the right of return?

When Israel declared itself a state in 1948, war broke out between the Jews and the neighboring Arab countries. 750,000 Palestinians fled or were chased from their homes during the war. That was about half the population at the time.

This is what the Palestinians today refer to as “al-nakba”, which in Arabic means the catastrophe. Later, even more Palestinians had to flee during the so-called the six day war the six day warAlso known as the Third Israeli-Arab War, which lasted six days in June 1967. The war was fought between Israel on one side and Egypt, Jordan and Syria on the other. in 1967.

The Palestinians who were displaced in these wars have been granted refugee status through the UN system.

A great many of these currently live outside Israel and the Palestinian territories. Most live in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria or Egypt, but not all are citizens there. Many are instead stateless refugees.

according to international law international lawThe international legal system that regulates the relationship between states and the relationship between states and international organizations. do these refugees have the right to return home. This is called the right of return. It has become a central demand for the Palestinian resistance movement.

Why is the number of refugees increasing?

Today, the number of Palestinian refugees has increased to 5.9 million people. It is because the refugees from 1948 and 1967 have had children and grandchildren, they have also been given refugee status.

It is the UN organization UNRWA that is responsible for the Palestinian refugees. They contribute with food, schooling, healthcare and other social services. It is also UNRWA that gives Palestinians refugee status.

Israel is very unhappy about that. They believe that UNRWA contributes to prolonging the conflict by continuing to give new Palestinians the status of refugees. That makes it increasingly difficult to resolve the issue of the right of return, Israel believes.

Why does Israel say no?

Israel has for years refused the Palestinian refugees to return home. It is about two things.

First, Israel denies that it is their fault that the Palestinians fled in 1948.

The Israelis claim they left voluntarily or were encouraged to leave by the Arab countries, which Israel also believes were the ones who attacked.

But denying responsibility is also strategic. That explains Middle East expert Hilde Henriksen Waage. Because according to a UN resolution from 1948, the refugees have the right to return home or receive compensation for lost property.

– The moment Israel replies that they themselves had a hand in the game, then they are responsible for either accepting the refugees, or paying them, says Waage.

Second, it is unthinkable for Jewish Israelis to allow millions of Palestinians to return to Israel.

Today, Arabs already make up around 20 percent of Israel’s population. They have the right to vote on an equal basis with Jewish Israelis.

If Israel were to agree to let the Palestinian refugees and their successors return home, the Arab part of the population would increase considerably. Then Israel would be able to become a country that no longer has a Jewish majority.

– It will undermine and destroy the principle of the Jewish state, says Waage.

If Israel says no anyway, why does Hamas propose it anyway?

It is thus irrelevant policy for Israel to allow the refugees to return home. Hamas knows that. In previous negotiations on a solution to the conflict, the talks have often stalled precisely on the question of the right of return, says Waage.

Hamas nevertheless wants to link this demand directly to negotiations on a two-state solution. They know that a new Palestinian state will not be able to take in all the refugees by itself. This is where compensation becomes important.

The idea is that the refugees will be offered compensation for the properties they lost in 1948 or 1967. In this way, they will be able to establish themselves and obtain citizenship in the new state of Palestine.

The problem is that Israel will not pay for it.

Who will pay then?

Thus, the question of the right of return may seem completely deadlocked. But Waage believes it is not impossible to envision a solution to the problem.

– The only viable way forward is to negotiate an international package solution, believes the researcher.

Several of the difficult questions must be taken into account here: the refugees, a Palestinian state and now the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

– Then the international community and the Arab countries must contribute the money. And an international force that can keep the peace.