Can We Rank Palestinian Organizations Based on Attitude Towards the Right of Return?

The Right of Return (RoR) is probably the most important, dearly held and emotion laden principle of the Palestinian national movement. Contrast that with the previous most important point (pre-1948) - don't let the Jews build a country on our land. It's symbolized by the key that many Palestinian families safeguard, mostly for homes that no longer exist.

Let's look at (and rank) the most spectrum of opinions on this issue, shall we?

Right of Return:

1. Willing to give up RoR as a practical reality in exchange for an independent, viable state. Israel must still accept some responsibility in the form of compensation for the lands it stole.
2. Accepts that insisting on RoR will prevent any peace deal, but is not willing to give up on it entirely. Ready to haggle - how about 100,000 Palestinians allowed back in over a few years. We can even call it 'family re-unification.' Israel must still accept some responsibility for the Naqba.
3. The Right of Return is still sacred. Stop treating it like an 'issue' to be resolved and pushed out of the way. It's crucial. That being said, we can settle for something far short of full repatriation of millions of refugees. How about 500,000, over a number of years?
4. The Right of Return is an individual as well as a collective right. It cannot be traded away by political leaders. It is the cornerstone. Better the Right of Return without peace than peace without the Right of Return.
5. This conversation is pointless - still trying to eliminate the Zionist entity folks. After it's gone, everybody can come back. Including most Jews, who will actually be going back, not coming back.

To help us get acquainted with this scoring system, let's fit some groups into the mix:

1. Palestinian Arabs who belong to Zionist parties in Israel, Sari Nusseibeh. Can't think of too many Palestinians who would actually advocate for this openly.
2. Mahmoud Abbas's government, many, of not most of Fateh in the West Bank.
3. Most Palestinians feel this way, with greater intensity in the refugee camps and outside of the West Bank. In terms of actions and votes, they often shift up or down a notch. Hamas, by tacitly accepting a two state solution, appears to be in this camp.
4. al-Awda, some NGO's working primarily with refugees, radical Islamists outside of Palestine.
5. Palestinian Islamic Jihad, sympathizers with Al-Qaida, original PLO Covenant and Hamas Charter.

It's been interesting trying to fit some U.S. groups here. There was a struggle within the U.S. peace camp over the Palestinian issue. Not over whether it was important, but the degree, and to what extent the U.S. peace camp should endorse more radical Palestinian political groups that emphasize the RoR. United for Peace and Justice chose to soft-peddle the issue, because they wanted to remain more broadly based. International ANSWER elevated the Palestinian issue as almost the co-equal of the Iraq war, and verbally bashed folks who wouldn't endorse the RoR.

In sheer numbers, it's safe to say that most supporters of the Palestinians are probably going to follow whatever the leaders in the West Bankand Gaza say will work. When that happens, the political opposition to a peace deal will continue to use the RoR as a wedge issue to try and get the radical left to denounce it.

The next post in this series will be about how we can use the rankings to see things we might not have seen before. Please do suggest groups not mentioned, and place them in this rubric. If a group isn't where you think it should be, say so!