UN General Assembly
1956

58. A visit to these refugees in their mud huts and shabby tents under the burning sun of summer and the severe cold of winter would enable one to listen to their appraisal of the justice of the United Nations. It is not enough in any appraisal to hear only what the well-off have to say or how they judge, it is also necessary to know what the poor and miserable feel. The Palestine Arab refugees, of whom my country shelters 600,000 and whose legitimate right it is to return to their lands and properties in Palestine, have no possibility of living a self-sufficient life on the economic opportunities in the Arab countries. The Director of UNRWA has mentioned this fact often in the official reports he has submitted during the past years to the General Assembly. The economic projects that were offered did not serve any end in this respect. The only solution which remains applicable to the problem of the Arab refugees, and which is consistent with the rules of right, is to repatriate them to their native land.