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Beilin: Palestinians agreed that only few refugees would return
Leslie Susser

Oslo peace accords architect Yossi Beilin, the former justice minister, says the Palestinians agreed, at the Taba talks in January, that a solution of the Palestinian refugee problem would not upset the current demographic balance in Israel, with the overwhelming majority of refugees coming to an independent Palestine.

Beilin told The Report that he and Nabil Sha'ath, on the Palestinian side, were very close to a framework agreement on the refugee question.

To deal with the issue of responsibility and blame, said Beilin, the agreement would refer to each side's historical narrative, with neither side accepting or refuting the other's account. And the bottom line, says Beilin, "is that the right of return in practice would be to the Palestinian state."

Beilin said the parties agreed in principle to establish an international agency to deal with refugee rehabilitation, and a fund to handle financial compensation. Though the question of evaluating property left behind in present day Israel was not addressed, Beilin says that "The important thing is that the Palestinians agree to the principle of compensation, which they ruled out in the past."

He says it was clear that only a small, symbolic number of refugees would be able to return to Israel proper, although "it was not clear whether we would talk about a fixed ceiling or about a narrowly defined principle, like family reunion, that would keep the number very low."

He adds that the refugee issue has yet to come up in the intensive talks he has been holding with Palestinian officials in recent weeks, but expects that it will. And he says he is using "this period in which I don't hold any official position to build a more detailed model with the Palestinians," he says.

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