The Right of Return The UN emissary, Count Folke Bernadotte (1895-1948) arrived in Palestine in May 1948 to mediate a cease fire. The recently proclaimed Israeli government consented to his appointment because, as president of the Swedish Red Cross, he saved 15,000 Jews from the Nazi Camps during WW2. Now, in Palestine, having witnessed the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homes and villages, he called for the unqualified return of all Palestinian refugees expelled as a result of the conflict. He declared: “It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes, while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine”. Count.Folke-Bernadotte.Sweden.jpg For this, he was assassinated by Jewish underground terrorists, the Stern Gang headed by Itzhak Shamir, on 17 September 1948, as his motorcade drove through Katamon west of Jerusalem. Shamir later became Israels Pime Minister in 1983 and also in 1988. It was partly as a tribute to Count Bernadotte that the UN General Assembly issued its Resolution 194 on 11 December 1948 calling for: 1. Return of all expelled Palestinians (Art. 11) 2. Protection of and free access to the Holy Places (Art. 7) 3. Demilitarization and UN control over Jerusalem (Art. 8) 4. Free access to Jerusalem (Art. 9)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 12:41:11 +0000
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