The Israeli point of view towards
local and international
Solutions

    As previously stated, Iinitially accepted the return of 100,000 Palestinian refugees in 1948. But Israel later reversed its position immediately following its acceptance of membership to the United Nations Organization. Israel instead submitted a series of plans including the “Levi Ashkol” plan in 1965. According to this plan, Israel expressed its readiness to contribute financially to the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in return for granting its free trade access with the Arab countries.

The same proposal was reiterated by Israeli Foreign Minister Mr. Abba Eban in 1968. Mr. Eban called upon holding a peace conference for Middle East countries with the aim of rendering assistance to Palestinian refugees through their integration in Arab societies, within a comprehensive peace plan. The “Afneiri” plan proposed in 1968, called for the return of a limited number of Palestinian refugees, to be mutually agreed upon between the two parties. Other proposals were disclosed calling for the extension of Israeli frontiers with Jordan to accommodate the Palestinians there.

In 1972, Yigal Allon submitted another plan which called for drafting a comprehensive economic plan to solve the refugee problem on the basis of local and international cooperation. The plan envisaged the construction of model settlements for Palestinian refugees. In conclusion, the Israeli successive governments were reluctant since 1948 to discuss the return of refugees to their homeland, even though it had expressed its readiness on several occasions to finiancially contribute to solving this problem, in return for free trade access to the Arab markets.