ABSTRACT

Examining the development of Israel’s policy toward the Palestinian refugee issue, this book spans the period following the first Arab-Israeli War until the mid-1950s, when the basic principles of Israel’s policy were finalized.

Israel and the Palestinian Refugee Issue outlines and analyzes the various aspects that, together, created the mosaic of the "refugee problem" with which Israel has since had to contend. These aspects include issues of repatriation, resettlement, compensation, blocked bank accounts, internal refugees and family reunification.

Drawing on extensive archival research, this book uses documents from Israeli government meetings, from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and files from the office of the Prime Minister’s advisor on Arab affairs to address the many diverse aspects of this topic, and will be essential reading for academics and researchers with an interest in Israel, the Middle East, and political science more broadly.

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

The evolution of the Palestinian refugee problem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

chapter |15 pages

Shifting the emphasis for solving the refugee problem

From a political approach to an economic one

chapter |20 pages

The refugee problem and Abdullah's Jordan

chapter |29 pages

An exchange transaction

Paying compensation in exchange for the resettlement of the refugees

chapter |19 pages

Toughening Israel's position

Compensation policy since the winter of 1952

chapter |23 pages

The Alpha Plan

chapter |10 pages

Conclusion