May 08, 2007 —
Mr. Chairman,
I commend you on holding a hearing on the important subject of refugees the resolution of which is essential for a lasting Arab-Israeli peace settlement. Six decades after the onset of the conflict hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees remain stateless and living in humiliating conditions in refugee camps. Today, there are approximately 4.5 Million refugees registered with the United Nation Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) and hundreds of thousands more who had become refugees after the 1967 war and who are classified as "displaced" persons. Some, like the 400,000 refugees in Lebanon are not only stateless but have little access to jobs and social services in their host country. The vast majority of Gaza's population is made up of refugees who left in 1948 from what is now central Israel-with many remaining in crowded camps.
This human tragedy alone should propel the international community to act. I know that there has been much focus in Congress in recent years on the issue of books and speeches as motivating factors for young Palestinians. This is certainly a legitimate area of discussion, but it should be clear that the miserable conditions of refugee camps coupled with a pervasive sense of injustice provide far more powerful motivations.
Changing the living conditions of refugees will be central, but it is a mistake to think that the issue of Palestinian refugees is only an issue of material compensation and settlement. There are important political, legal, psychological, and moral aspects to this issue that have been even bigger barriers to its resolution. Unless a peace settlement finds a way to address these aspects, it is unlikely to be lasting.