June 4, 2003

Amos Oz, a leading Israeli novelists and a founder of the Peace Now movement states that Palestinian refugees will have to be resettled in a newly formed Palestinian state and not in Israel for peace to be achieved. Some people still have not accepted this however, in a letter to the Toronto Star, Baha Abushaqra writes: You sound more Zionist than Ariel Sharon himself in your editorial. You shy away from referring to the occupied territories as "occupied" and instead refer to them as "disputed." And you argue that Israel must remain a state above international law when you say that it has a right to exist "as a Jewish state," and, therefore, Palestinian refugees should be resettled anywhere other than in their original homes. Actually the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 calls for "Independent Arab and Jewish States".  The Jewish residents of Mandate Palestine accepted the Resolution, Arab residents did not. Update: June 5, 2003: Brenda Cohen writes back in the Toronto Star explaining why this call is wrong and has no legal basis. Demanding it would also prevent any chance of peace being obtained. 10:59:09 PM