Stolen Nation (the Right To Reparation Of Palestinian Refugees)

While Palestinians continue to face the threat of expulsion from their homes, identifying legal mechanisms that can be used to assert Palestinian’s property rights is needed more than ever. This book provides a legal analysis of the right to reparation of Palestinian refugees under international law for the destruction and expropriation of their property during the Nakba . Discussing the legal landscape related to property ownership prior to the creation of the State of Israel and the legal basis for the right to reparation under international law, Lena El-Malak advocates for a law-based approach to enforce this right and the form it should take.

The book demonstrates how the legal rights of Palestinian refugees, specifically as related to their properties, have been marginalized and excluded from the political discourse of the “peace process”. Here, the legal rights of Palestinian refugees are demonstrated, challenges for invoking these rights in international and domestic courts are determined, and forms of restitution and compensation outlined. This study offers a timely contribution to provide a comprehensive legal, as opposed to a political, economic or historical analysis, of the right to reparation of Palestinian refugees for their property losses. Additionally, the book seeks to demonstrate the importance of adopting a legal framework in any future negotiation for a peaceful resolution to this long standing struggles for liberation.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Selected Abbreviations


Introduction
The Persistent Question of Palestinian Refugees
Defining the Scope and Terminology
The Refugee Issue under International Law
Research Question and Outline of the Thesis

Chapter One: Dispossession in Palestine
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Land Laws in Palestine during the Ottoman Period (1858-1917)
1.3 Land Laws in Palestine during the British Mandate (1920-1948)
1.4 Legalising Dispossession: Israeli Legislation And Its Impact On
Palestinian Ownership of Land (1948-)
1.5 Conclusion

Chapter Two: Palestinian Refugee Property Losses: The Grounds for
Reparation in International Law
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Legal Concept of Reparation
2.2.1 Clarifying the Terminology
2.2.2 The Grounds for Reparation in International Law:
Israel’s Expropriation of Refugee Property under the Law on
State Responsibility
2.3 Israeli Expropriation of Palestinian Refugee Property:
A Wrongful Act under International Law
2.3.1 Israeli Damage and Expropriation of Palestinian Refugee Property
as a Violation of International Humanitarian Law
2.3.2 Israeli Property Expropriation and the Doctrine on Enemy
Property
2.3.3 Palestinian Refugees’ Property Rights under United Nations
Resolution
Right of Return and Restitution
Right of Compensation
Significance of Resolution 194
2.3.4 Palestinian Refugees’ Property Rights under Human Rights
Law
2.4 Consequences of an Internationally Wrongful Act
2.5 Conclusion

Chapter Three: Invoking the Right to Reparation: Is There a Forum for
Palestinian Refugee Property Claims?
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Invoking a Right to Reparation before Domestic Courts
3.2.1 The Holocaust Restitution Movement: A Case Apart
3.2.2 Facing the Jurisdictional Barriers: Do the Property Claims of
Palestinian Refugees Stand a Chance?
3.2.3 The Limited Advantages of the Litigation