stevenlmeyer,

I agree that the UNRWA definition of "refugee" is extremely unrealistic and impractical given the situation now.

You write, "Israel has a right to exist as an independent "JEWISH STATE" within its 1967 borders", this is an acceptable compromise.However, I have some reservations, what does the term "Jewish State" mean and what are the implications for non-Jews within its borders?
Israel has enormous military power compared with the Palestinians, who, for all practical purposes are defenceless,and pushed into ghettos. Why indeed would Israel change its policy of expansion and expulsion of Palestinians from their lands? It's worked well so far,at this rate your Group A solution will be void very soon. Those that support it will have to demonstrate that the Israeli government is(in good faith) considering a return to the 1967 borders as an option and not as a smoke screen.

Steven makes an excellent point about 'hereditary' status of 'refugee'...that idea is ludicrous. I'd like to underline that the only refugee's are the ORIGINAL ones ... who fled in 1948.

HELPFUL DOCUMENTS. which make interesting reading about how the different perspectives between Arab and Jew and "West" arose.

PEEL REPORT.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/peel1.html

Among the reasons given for a 1936 race disturbance was this:

5) Arab alarm at the continued Jewish purchase of land;

I draw the readers attention to the important word 'purchase'.

ANGLO AMERICAN COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/angch01.asp

3/ BALFOUR DECLARATION.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/balfour.asp

It is abundantly clear that the following is recognized.

1/ The Land of Palestine was foreably taken by Arab interests historically. (637)

2/ Jewish Home Land aspirations were based on purchased land.

THE OBJECTIVES of all the reports were the same.

I) Safe haven for Jews.
II) No diminished rights for non Jews in Palestine.
III) The Government of Palestine should be neither Jewish nor Arab.

COMMENT. While these might seem laudable and well intended ideals, human nature being what it is, was/is the achilles heel in it's success.

HISTORY..... Like a river, takes the course of least resistance, and it appears that the transformation of the region known as Palestine, has become, and is increasingly becoming, a complete Jewish homeland and State.

The placement and populations of West Bank settlements now make it both politically and practically a defacto Jewish State all over.
As was the White settlement of Australia and the displacement of Aboriginals.. so it is with modern Israel. We are witnessing our own history replayed in living color.

"Let’s first investigate the recent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The cease-fire began in June 2008. The terms were as follows:

1. Israel would drastically reduce its military blockade of Gaza.
2. Israel would halt all military incursions into Gaza.
3. Hamas would halt all rocket attacks into Israel.

From the outset of the cease-fire, Israel did little to ease its military blockade. As a result, Gazans continued to suffer from a lack of food, fuel, financial aid, electricity, clean water, medical supplies, and more. This has been, inarguably, an attack on innocent Palestinian civilians."

Source: If Americans only knew

From a scientific point of view, you are well on the right track, Jack from Bicton.

Trouble is, Jack, too many of our OlO's simply regard such science as part of left-wing social science.

The point is, considering that right-wing commonsense as they call it has proven a failure, where or how do we find the answer?

Cheers, BB, WA.

Steven,
You and I also disagree as to what a discussion is.

A discussion with pre-conditions to the subject is a lecture. Your conditions indicate you have a fixed opinion to which you are prepared to impart but not listen.

I might add it is assumptive on your part that your opinion is superior to mine and arrogance that all you need to do is explain the “errors(?)” in my reasoning.

I am disappointed that you consider my intelligence so poorly as to persist with your tactics involving such patently obvious logic traps.
Obviously I have more respect for you and your opinion than you have for mine.

Under those circumstances I retain my original stance not to waste either of our time on this topic.

stevenlmeyer-Polycarp:- The 1967 border was an Israeli definition following their success in the skirmish of that year. The 1948 border is the only legitimate Israel/Palestine border ratified by the UN.
Israel has consistently defied/denied UN resolutions that did not coincide with their martial beliefs, ably supported by the US Government.
It can be safely stated: that at the very least, some 50% of the present Jewish population of Israel are recent migrants, quite unlike the Palestinian Arabs who have lived there from time immemorial. The 1948 Arab refugees were forcably driven out of Palestine by the invading Zionists, in very similar circumstances to the fleeing European refugees from the German invasion in 1940. The major difference being, following the war's end these European refugees were re-settled, for the mainpart, in their country of origin. Not so the refugees from Palestine, they are still in limbo:-

1): The border dispute must be re-negotiated upon the official 1948 UN
partition.
2): The inalienable right of the 1948 Palestinian Arab refugees to return to the land of their origin must be applied, without prejudice.
3): The Jewish settlements in the occupied zone must be completely dismantled.
If these simple common sense actions were taken, then rest assured a huge step forward would have been made to ensure lasting peace in the Middle East.