Compensation

Compensation to the Palestinian People and Government

Israel owes the Palestinian people and government billions of dollars for the damage inflicted on Palestinians and their property in 1948 and for nearly four decades of military occupation. 

Compensation to the Palestinian People

From 1947-49, Zionist forces expelled approximately 800,000 Palestinians, and, to date, has never allowed them or their descendents to return to their homes in what is now Israel.  Immediately following the war, more than 400 Palestinian villages and towns were destroyed or resettled by Jews in an attempt to erase any evidence of a non-Jewish history and attachment to Palestine.  Israel has never compensated Palestinians for Palestinian property stolen or destroyed by Israel.  Conservative estimates of the current value of their property run well into the billions of dollars, though estimates vary based on whether non-material losses are included. 

Compensation to the Palestinian Government

Since 1967, Israel has violated the human rights of Palestinians and has also confiscated Palestinian land for the construction of illegal Israeli colonies and by-pass roads.  Palestinian natural resources have been used (and depleted) by Israel and archaeological artifacts have been illegally taken from the Palestinians.  Accordingly, among other things, Israel is obligated to compensate the Palestinian government for material and non-material losses in connection with:

• Destruction and/or confiscation of property and other losses in maintaining the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

• Use and depletion of Palestinian natural resources.

• Breaches of human rights standards.

• Ethnic and religious discriminatory policies.

• Killing and wounding of Palestinian civilians.

• Expulsion of Palestinians

• Illegal confiscation of Palestinian property.

• Settling its own population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

• Administrative detention and torture of prisoners.