This plan must ensure the safety and dignity of return in accordance with international human rights norms. In addition to enabling their return, Israel must compensate the refugees for the damages inflicted upon them as a result of their dispossession and displacement. Refugees are entitled to compensation for loss of or damage to property, personal injury, mental pain and anguish, and any other damage arising as a result of their displacement and dispossession. Palestinian refugees are entitled to compensation whether or not they choose to exercise their right to return. Moreover, real property owned by the refugees at the time of their expulsion should be restored to its lawful Palestinian owners or their successors.
International law regards private ownership as sacrosanct.
Accordingly, the various discriminatory laws and administrative schemes, notably the Absentee Property Law, enacted by the Israeli authorities since 1948 to seize the property of the refugees and transfer it to the state of Israel, its agencies, or to the hands of Jewish individuals must be repealed and the seized property should be restored whether the refugee chooses to return or not. To date, Palestinian refugees and their descendants constitute the largest and most longstanding refugee population in the world. Keeping such a population without connection to, or inclusion in peace will contribute to the perpetuation of the conflict. Only a just settlement of the refugee problem based on Resolution 194 could lead to the achievement of a truly lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.