The “Geneva Accord” and the Palestinian Refugee Issue

Abstract

Brynen—The Geneva Accord and the Refugee Issue 1 Following the first major leaks to the media in October, and later the formal launch ceremony Geneva on 1 December 2003, the unofficial Israeli-Palestinian "Geneva Accords" have attracted considerable attention. Most of the international community has welcomed them as a valuable contribution to the debate on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Within Israel, the accords were strongly attacked by Prime Minister Sharon and right-wing politicians and commentators as offering excessive concessions, rewarding terrorism, and/or subverting Israeli foreign policy. The accords were also criticized by many centrist politicians and opinion leaders on similar grounds, including Shinui Party leader Tommy Lapid and former Labor prime minister Ehud Barak, Within the Palestinian territories and diaspora, the Fateh mainstream was generally critical, and Islamists groups even more so. Particular criticism was directed to the accords' perceived concessions on the Palestinian "right of return." This short paper examines the Geneva accords as they pertain to the Palestinian refugee issue. The first part offers a technical appraisal of Article 7 of the accords, identifying and assessing the arrangements that it proposes, and also noting the extent to which these reflect or diverge from previous formulations (notably those developed in the last round of final status negotiations in Taba in January 2001). In doing this, it is not the purpose of the paper to nitpick what, as Geneva initiative organizers freely admit, is still a work-in-progress. Rather, it is to give the refugee proposals the serious critical analytical attention they deserve, and in so doing perhaps identify areas that would benefit from further exploration, especially if and when the regional participants undertake to develop the as-yet incomplete annexes to the accord. Second, this paper also reflects a little on the broader significance of the Geneva accord in potentially advancing dialogue on sensitive aspects of the refugee issue, as well as communicating (as its framers' explicitly intend) that there are both viable plans and partners for Middle East peace.