RIYADH, Nov 18: Israel has agreed to allow 20,000 Palestinian refugees to return into Israel in exchange for ending Palestinian intifada, Saudi daily Arab News said on Sunday quoting the independent Palestinian news agency Ma’an.
The agreement was reached in a closed-door meeting between the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli premier Ehud Olmert, the news agency said citing Israeli sources.
The implementation of this offer would be part of a two-state solution and would remain in abeyance until the Palestinian Authority is able to control the area. The report did not tell the criterion used to arrive at the 20,000 figure or if the rest of the Palestinians and their descendants displaced by the creation of the state of Israel would be monetarily compensated.
It is the first time Israel has accepted the right of return of Palestinians uprooted from their territories when the state of Israel came into being in 1948.
The issue of ‘right of return’ of refugees has remained a major stumbling block in arriving at any peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat meanwhile said in a statement: “The Palestinian and Israeli negotiation teams will conduct intensive rounds of negotiations this week in a bid to hammer out a joint declaration outlining a solution to core issues: borders, status of Jerusalem, refugees, and water before Annapolis conference.”
He said meetings with Israelis would resume despite all obstacles and complications faced by the Palestinian side.
