REMARKS BY DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER OF ISRAEL
DR. YOSSI BEILIN
MULTILATERAL WORKING GROUP ON REFUGEES
TUNIS, OCTOBER 12, 1993
1. Thanks to the Tunisian government for hosting this meeting.
2. Appreciations to Tarje Larson for his role in the "Oslo channel".
3. Reference to important events of the last months.
4. We have for the first time agreed on a framework through which we
can work to design a solution.
5. The problem of refugees from 1948 will be discussed in the
negotiations for a permanent solution (Article V(3) of the
Declaration of Principles).
6. The problem of displaced persons from 1967 will be discussed within
the framework of the liaison and cooperation committee, with the
participation of representatives of the Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt
and Israel (Article XII of the Declaration of Principles).
7. The issue of former residence is a priority item within the
bilateral negotiations between Israel and Jordan.
8. Dealing with the question of former residents of the territories is
done within the framework of the bilateral negotiations between
Israel and Jordan.
9. The issue of reunification of families is one of the agenda items
for this conference. The Government of Israel has established
criteria for approving requests of this nature that are in keeping
with accepted standards. They are:
- reuniting husbands with wives
- reuniting wives with husbands
- reunification in cases with humanitarian aspects.
10. This refers to Palestinians, without any geographic distinction,
who want to unite with their families in the West Bank and Gaza.
This number does not include members of the Palestinian police and
others who will participate in the interim self-government.
11. This is in addition to six thousand persons who were given the
right to permanent residency in the territories, who had initially
arrived for temporary visits and who had extended their residence
beyond the date allowed in their original permits.
In addition, the government of Israel has decided to permit ten
persons who were deported in the early 1970's, together with their
immediate families, to return to the territories immediately.
12. A significant number of prisoners will be released in the near
future and more deportees will be allowed to return. This within
the framework of the Israel-PLO negotiations.
13. Defining the appropriate framework for a discussion of the varied
aspects of the refugee problem, including Israel's policy
concerning reunification of families, will allow our Working Group
to focus on the humanitarian aspects of the issue of refugees and
on the effort to create acceptable living conditions to the
refugees.
14. For a whole generation the refugee problem has been perceived as
insurmountable. The key to the solution is to understand each
other's pain and other other's red lines. That was the success of
the Oslo channel.
15. In the very near future, we will have to tackle sensitive issues,
left untouched for many decades. We must touch some delicate
nerves: the brutalities of past wars, the missed opportunities, and
the regional 'march of folly'.
16. I believe that we will be courageous enough at that moment of
truth, since when at the end of the day we adjourn, it is us the
Palestinians and the Israelis who will share a common future.