difference between the "left" and the "right." It is enough to merely mention the refugee problem for writers like Amos Oz to react like Ariel Sharon, and for a "new historian" like Benny Morris to voice opinions similar to those of an adherent to the very same old myths that he himself helped to debunk.⁴⁶

No wonder that raising the issue now is shaking many of the Israeli "peace camp" to the roots of their soul. "We thought that the problem had gone away," many of them exclaim angrily, accusing the Palestinians of fraud, as if they had suddenly sprung earth-shattering demands, whereas until now they had presented only "simple" problems, like the establishment of a Palestinian state, borders, and settlements.

This attests to an abysmal lack of understanding. The right of return expresses the very core of the Palestinian national ethos. It is anchored in the memories of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948, and the feeling that a historic injustice was committed against the Palestinian people. Ignoring this feeling of injustice makes it impossible to understand the Palestinian struggle, past and present.

Everyone who really tried to bring about peace and conciliation between the two peoples knew all the time that the refugee problem was only dormant, like a sleeping lion that could wake up at any minute. The hope was that this moment could be postponed until after the other problems could be resolved, and both sides could start healing this wound in a more congenial atmosphere. The hope was that after a good measure of mutual trust could be created, a rational approach would be possible. The Oslo Declaration of Principles of 1993 did not ignore the problem, but postponed it to the "final status" negotiations.

The man who upset the cart was Ehud Barak. Ele kicked the

sleeping lion in the ribs. In a typical mixture of arrogance, ignoranee, recklessness, and contempt for the Arabs, he was convinced that he could induce the Palestinians to give up the right of return. Therefore he demanded that the Palestinians sign a new declaration of principles, in which they would announce the "end of the conflict."

The moment these five words-"the end of the conflict"-were

uttered in the negotiations, the right of return landed on the negotiating table with a bang. It should have been foreseen that no Palestinian leader could possibly sign the "end of the conflict" without a solution to the refugee problem.

Now there is no way to avoid a courageous confrontation of this problem.

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