As such, going forward, UNRWA must differentiate between a Palestinian refugee who by definition lives outside his place of birth (today's Palestine), versus an internally displaced person who has left or been evicted from his/her original home in today's Israel but is now living in his own country -- the West Bank and Gaza.
Making this distinction is necessary because otherwise the roster of "refugees" will continue to grow exponentially by those who were born in their homeland in the West Bank and Gaza but are ironically counted as refugees by the self-perpetuating UNRWA.
Of the over 5 million total Palestinian refugees, nearly 810,000 out of nearly 2.5 million residents in the West Bank are registered as refugees. In Gaza, out of roughly 2 million residents, 1.3 million are registered as refugees.
In Jordan, out of more than 3 million Palestinians, almost 2.2 million are registered as refugees, albeit the vast majority have full Jordanian citizenship. In Lebanon, nearly all Palestinians (approximately 500,000) are considered refugees and denied citizenship, and the same is true in Syria with almost 530,000 registered as refugees. In all three, the vast majority of Palestinian refugees were in fact born in those countries.
It is time for those who have been supporting the refugees to take the initiative and end the humanitarian crisis, the misery, and the humiliation of the refugees by taking the following steps:
First, since the Palestinians will not change their narrative about the right of return, supporters of the refugee programs, including the EU, US, and the Arab states, must change the public discourse and talk openly about resettlement, compensation, and rehabilitation. Changing the public narrative will resonate over time and provide political cover for the Palestinian leadership to gradually engage in the same discourse about the need to end the refugees' tragedy on that basis.
Second, the change in public discourse must be accompanied by initially raising $10 billion to be appropriated for the refugees over a period of five to seven years. Funds should be raised by the EU, US, and oil-rich Arab states. Raising the money will demonstrate the seriousness of the new initiative and will have a huge psychological and practical impact on most refugees, who have been victimized and used as pawns by their leaders and are eager to end their plight.
Third, France and Britain should introduce a resolution at the UNSC to end the mandate of UNRWA after its latest extension to 2020, and instead establish a new UN commission that would oversee the process of resettlement and report regularly to the UNSC. The Commission should establish a deadline beyond which no Palestinian will be added to the roster. This will freeze the current number who would receive benefits, which would require states currently hosting Palestinian refugees to either grant them citizenship or facilitate their resettlement in either the West Bank and Gaza or a third country.
Fourth, even though Israel does not assume any responsibility for the refugees, in a demonstration of goodwill the Israeli government should provide technical help in areas of prefabricated housing and infrastructure. It is in Israel's best interest to facilitate a solution to the refugee problem, which has been haunting the Israelis as well for 70 years.
A resolution to the refugee problem along these lines will also contribute greatly to resolving the conflict with Hamas, as the continuing humanitarian crisis has been fueling the fire of desperation, which is the source of the unending violence.
I do not assume for a moment that the Palestinians will embrace this initiative with open arms, but the search for a solution must begin in some place. Those who prolonged the refugee problem must now assume the moral responsibility and leadership role to advance a solution to end it.
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