Historical Background
In 1947, the United Nations (UN) passed a resolution that led to partition of Palestine and the creation of Israel as a separate Jewish state (Cole 9). This led to an immediate uprising by the Palestinians and Arab countries (Cole 9). The level of violence resulted in Palestinians exercising their right to protect themselves from violence by fleeing Israel (AbuZayyad 7). In 1948, the UN responded to the massive exodus by passing General Assembly Resolution 194 (hereby referred to as Res. 194) (Lapidoth).
Res. 194 states that, “[Palestinian] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date” (Benvenisti 45; Lapidoth). This resolution implies that the conflict in the 1940’s greatly infringed upon the rights of the Palestinians, and that they deserve retribution and to return to their homeland. However, it is important to recall that, as a resolution by the UN, Res. 194 is non-binding (Cole 10). It is not meant to force, but to pressure Israel into action. Regardless of the lack of authority associated with resolutions, Res. 194 is the basis of the assertion that all Palestinians have the ROR (Cole 9). However, their unyielding support of the ROR, especially for all Palestinians, is groundless.