As I understand from the Taba talks on the return of the displaced, Israel agreed to a first slice of 100,00O, all for family reunification.
While the Israeli non-paper never was made public, to best of my knowledge, they would come from Lebanon.
I think your figures on the number of Israelis in settlements is considerrably higher than the commonly-used figure. in the neighborhood of 200,000 and most live in annexed neighborhoods that are contiguous to Israel proper: Gilo is an example and that's where much of the tensions arise when Arab Beit Jala (?) is used for snipers who fire into the windows of the residents.
Don't believe there are "300,000 settler housing units ready for occupancy by Palestinians." Many of the settlers have families almost as large as their Palestinian neighbors. Rather than try to do the match without reproduction rates in front of me, I do believe the number of housing units is considerably fewer, perhaps in the range of 40,000 or fewer.
In any event, if indeed, payments were to be given, the Arab countries are more than reluctant to take any Palestinians as citizens. I recall a short piece in the New Republic some time ago. Three ranking Saudis were asked how many Palestinians lived in Saudi Arabia. The answers ranged from 15,000 to 25,000. Asked why so few, one commented that he didnt want many Palestinians there because they cause too much trouble. Saudi Arabia accepts only Palestinians married to Saudi men, he said, some teachers and doctors.
BTW, a question that hasn't been asked for some years:is a Palestinian state viable without open borders with Israel or would it became another of the world's basket case. I haven't seen any studies of late. |
