We say: It is clear that any solution to the Palestinian refugee issue will have to be found within the borders of a future Palestinian state, rather than inside Israel. Indeed, while refusal to relinquish the principle of a "right of return" is the prerogative of the Palestinians, demands that the principle be implemented inside Israel are tantamount to a demand that Israel cease to exist as a Jewish state. Successive peace initiatives - including the Clinton parameters, the Geneva Initiative, and the Arab League Initiative - all make clear that a solution to the issue must be found that is acceptable to both sides - respecting both the sensitivities of the Palestinian refugees and Israel's sovereign right to determine who may live within its borders. This is the right approach, and it is guided by moral, political, and strategical concerns.

The wars of 1948 and 1967 gave birth to a population of Palestinian refugees - men, women, and children who lost their land, homes and livelihoods in the land which is now Israel. The resulting refugee issue today remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Morally, a resolution of this human tragedy must be one of the most important goals of the peace process.

Politically and strategically, any effort to resolve the conflict without addressing the needs and grievances of these refugees will almost certainly fail, sowing even deeper frustration and creating fertile ground for the growth of future violence. The issue has wider impacts, effecting the stability of countries of the region that are home to the refugee populations (including those who have made peace with Israel) and providing a powerful point around which extremists rally support. Allowing the refugee issue to fester is a dangerous approach.

They say: The Palestinian refugee issue gets a lot of attention, but an ever bigger issue - that of Jewish refugees from Arab countries - gets largely ignored. This is unjust. These Jews are victims who lost their homes, businesses, and properties as a result of Arab policies linked to the creation of Israel. Indeed, these Jews lost far more property than the Palestinians, and may be more numerous than the Palestinian refugees. Justice requires that any Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement address not only the issue of Palestinian refugees, but also that of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and their claims.

We say: Clearly, Jewish refugees from Arab countries - Jews who fled or were evicted from their homes as Israel came into existence and thereafter - have legitimate claims against these countries, and there is no question that they have a right to seek redress. However, resolution of such claims is not an Israeli-Palestinian issue. Rather, it is a bilateral issue between Israel (or France, or the U.S., or whatever country these Jews now live in) and the countries these Jews fled. Israel's ability to negotiate peace cannot be allowed to be held hostage to the resolution of these claims.