1 - Refugees Under Madrid and Oslo
2 - Background
3 - The Israeli Position
4 - The Palestinian Position
5 - During the Interim Period
6 - Proposals
The issue of refugees is being considered in two different forums, a multilateral and a
bilateral negotiating track. The multilateral negotiations are intended to open discussion
on the more general issues in preparation for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks which will
take place as part of the final status negotiations.
1 - Refugees Under Madrid and Oslo
Madrid: At the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference it was agreed that a number of multilateral
working groups would be established to begin addressing basic issues of regional concern,
including refugees. At that time, the Multilateral Working Group on Refugees (MWGR) was
set up to deal with the general question of Middle East refugees, with the objective of
working to improve the living conditions of Palestinian refugees in their current
locations -- primarily in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and
Syria. At a later meeting of the MWGR in May 1994, it was further determined that the
working group would place strong emphasis on improving housing and economic conditions,
like employment and income, by developing programs in the areas of human resources and
development, child welfare, social and economic infrastructure and public health.
Declaration of Principles: Under the DOP, refugees are to be discussed in the final
status negotiations. It was officially added to the list of other permanent status issues
in the final draft of the agreement.
In addition, the DOP calls for the establishment of a multilateral preparatory
committee which would work during the Interim phase in a similar manner to the MWGR
established in Madrid. Under the DOP, this committee was intended to deal specifically
with the matter of displaced persons from the 1967 Six Day War and to have a quadripartite
format with representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt.
The two parties will invite the Governments of Jordan and Egypt to participate in
establishing further liaison and cooperation arrangements between the Government of Israel
and the Palestinian representatives. . . . These arrangements will include the
constitution of a Continuing Committee that will decide by agreement on the modalities of
admission of persons displaced from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, together with
necessary measures to prevent disruption and disorder. Other matters of common concern
will be dealt with by this Committee (DOP, Article XII).
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