It is a sad reflection on the moral character of those who, more than any other people, should have learned lessons from past tragedies. In today's world, ethnic cleansing is a war crime. Forcible resettlement is also a war crime. And, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of 1998, settling the occupier's people in occupied territory is a war crime. To expel people from their homes is yet another war crime, and to prevent their return to their homes is as well.
International law is solidly behind the Palestinian refugees.
U.N. Resolution 194, which calls for their right to return, was affirmed by the international community 135 times in the 52 years between 1948 and 2000. Israel does and is supported in its denial by the United States. But the rest of the world does not deny this right.