Handbook of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees 1], but the fact that a Member of the United Nations was preventing their return.’ (ibid, para 47). As the Saudi delegate stated, ‘The Arab States desired that those refugees should be aided pending their repatriation, repatriation being the only real solution of their problem . . . Pending a proper settlement of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Palestine refugees should continue to be granted a separate and special status’ (ibid, paras 52 and 62). Third, the Arab delegates recognised the need to ensure that Palestinians would receive protection and assistance until the agreed durable solution could be realised. When the second sentence of 1D was later proposed, the Egyptian delegate stated: ‘Once the United Nations assistance ceased, the Palestine refugees should automatically enjoy the benefits of the Convention’ (UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries, 1951). The amendment, however, left significant inconsistencies between the two sentences in the provision, and between Article 1D and the UNHCR Statute. Some conclusions can be drawn from this brief overview of the drafting history concerning the key ambiguities in Article 1D. Article 1D does not include a definition of which refugees it covers (or excludes), but its reference to ‘persons . . . at present receiving’ can only be understood from the drafting history as incorporating the Res. 194(III) definition of ‘Palestine 16