Palestinian right of return

The Palestinian right of return is the political position or principle that <a href="/facts/Palestinian_refugees/Qb8fAsRg">Palestinian refugees</a>, both <a href="/facts/Immigrant_generations/M342RoDQ">first-generation</a> refugees (c. 30,000 to 50,000 people still alive as of 2012<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palestinian_right_of_return&action=edit">[update]</a>) and their descendants (c. 5 million people as of 2012<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palestinian_right_of_return&action=edit">[update]</a>), have a <a href="/facts/Right_to_return/PfNm6CgC">right to return</a> and a right to the <a href="/facts/Property/F6bGqY2w">property</a> they themselves or their forebears left behind or were forced to leave in what is now <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israel</a> and the <a href="/facts/Palestinian_territories/pTUwGmIE">Palestinian territories</a> (both formerly part of the <a href="/facts/Mandatory_Palestine/mv0NGUBy">British Mandate of Palestine</a>) during the <a href="/facts/1948_Palestinian_expulsion_and_flight/bMSw91lU">1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight</a> (a result of the <a href="/facts/1948_Palestine_war/lGFHlU7R">1948 Palestine war</a>) and the <a href="/facts/Six-Day_War/xM8d0Wy1">1967 Six-Day War</a>. 
The right of return was initially formulated on 27 June 1948 by United Nations mediator <a href="/facts/Folke_Bernadotte/pekcfjbb">Folke Bernadotte</a>. Proponents of the right of return hold that it is a <a href="/facts/Human_right/WMW5XCdM">human right</a>, whose applicability both generally and specifically to the Palestinians is protected under <a href="/facts/International_law/WJEPeq44">international law</a>. This view holds that those who opt not to return, or for whom return is not feasible, should receive compensation. Proponents argue that Israel's opposition stands in contrast with its <a href="/facts/Law_of_Return/jvahF9BX">Law of Return</a> that grants all Jews the right to settle permanently, while withholding any comparable right from Palestinians. The <a href="/facts/Government_of_Israel/g3azkmGs">government of Israel</a>, and its supporters, state that Palestinian refugees don't have the right of return under international law.
There is also significant concern about the demographic impact of the return of 5 million Palestinians to Israel, whose population is nearly 10 million. Some Palestinians, including <a href="/facts/Yasser_Arafat/r2DjotE5">Yasser Arafat</a>, have supported some limits on the right of return to accommodate Israel's demographic concerns.

Palestinian right of return open-in-new

Palestinian right of return