The broad impunity that Israel enjoys serves as an incentive for further
forcible displacement, as it comes at no expense for Israel. The failure, or
unwillingness, of the international community to effectively pressure Israel
and to facilitate reparations results in the ongoing and ever-increasing exile
and dispossession of the Palestinian people. As long as the international
community does not intervene and apply pressure for reparations for all
forcibly displaced Palestinians, Israel will continue to have the tacit consent
to proceed with its breaches of international law, and the number of forcibly
displaced Palestinians will continue to increase.
Despite numerous UN resolutions calling for the implementation of prior UN
resolutions 194 and 237, no international organization has actively engaged
in the search for a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian refugee and
IDP issue since the early 1950s. Rather, international politics has confined
the UN to a guardian of Palestinian refugee rights and limited its role to
providing humanitarian aid. On the other hand, solutions have been
left to political negotiations between the parties, which are undertaken
specifically outside the ambit of international law. These negotiations have
been subject to a balance of power that is in Israel’s favor, and Israel, in
turn, has sought at all times to avoid recognition and implementation of the
right of reparations.
5. Concluding remarks
In light of Israel’s failure to afford protection to Palestinian refugees and
the ongoing denial of reparations, the international community has an
obligation to protect the rights of Palestinians, in particular the right
to self-determination and the right of Palestinian refugees and IDPs to
reparations.
The international community, both through the United Nations and individual
states, has largely failed to meet its obligations towards the Palestinian
people for reasons primarily resulting from the lack of political will among
powerful western states. Despite the gravity of the policies and practices
implemented by Israel, which have resulted in the mass forcible transfer of
Palestinians spanning decades, no UN agency or other authoritative body has
been designated as primarily responsible for their protection or the pursuit of
durable solutions. UNRWA is mandated to provide humanitarian assistance
for Palestinian refugees, which is a necessary intervention and one of the
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