The solution of the refugee problem will coincide with the
establishment of the State of Palestine. Therefore, the first step can be the granting of Palestinian citizenship to every Palestinian refugee, wherever he or she may be, if the State of Palestine so decides.
For the refugees, this step will be of utmost importance, not only for symbolic, but also for very practical reasons. Many Palestinians who have no citizenship are denied the privilege of crossing borders altogether; for all others the crossing of borders entails suffering, humiliation, and harassment.
The granting of citizenship will completely change the situation and status of the refugees in places like Lebanon, where refugees are exposed to danger.
Free choice
A basic element of the right of return is the right of every single refugee to choose freely between return and compensation.
This is a personal right. While the recognition in principle is a collective right, its implementation in practice is a choice for the individual Palestinians. In order to be able to make their decisions, they must know all the rights accruing to them: what sums will be paid to those choosing not to return and what possibilities are open to those who wish to return.
Every refugee has the right to compensation for properties left behind when he or she was uprooted, as well as for the loss of opportunities and other injuries. Without making any comparison between the Holocaust and the Nakba, one can learn from the German method of compensating their Jewish victims. This will enable all the refugees to decide what is good for them and their families.
The compensations, which undoubtedly will entail great sums, must be paid by an international fund, to which all the wealthier economies must contribute. The Palestinians can rightfully demand this from the member states of the United Nations who voted for the partition of Palestine in 1947 and did not lift a finger to prevent the tragedy of the refugees.
Israelis must not delude themselves that only others will pay. The Israeli "custodian of absentee property" holds huge properties-buildings, lands, movable property-left behind by the refugees, and it is his duty to register and administer them.
Return to Palestine
The historic compromise between Israel and Palestine is based on the principle of "two states for two peoples." The State of Palestine is