Palestinian refugees in international law - Francesca Albanese

The Palestinian refugee question, resulting from the events surrounding the birth of the state of Israel seventy years ago, remains one of the largest and most protracted refugee crises of the post-WWII era. Numbering over six million in the Middle East alone, Palestinian refugees' status varies considerably according to the state or territory 'hosting' them, the UN agency assisting them and political circumstances surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict theserefugees are naturally associated with. Despite being foundational to both the experience of the Palestinian refugees and the resolution of their plight, international law is often side-lined in political discussions concerning their fate. This compelling new book, building on the seminal contribution of the first edition (1998), offers a clear and comprehensive analysis of various areas of international law (including refugee law, human rights law, humanitarian law, the law relating to stateless persons, principles related to internally displaced persons, as well as notions of international criminal law), and probes their relevance to the provision of international protection for Palestinian refugees and their quest for durablesolutions.

Francesca P. Albanese is an Affiliate Researcher with the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM). Before dedicating herself to this book writing, she worked as a Legal Officer for the Department of Legal Affairs of UNRWA, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights before then. A law graduate from the University of Pisa, Francesca holds an LLM in Human Rights at SOAS, University of London.

Lex Takkenberg has worked with UNRWA since 1989. He is the former Chief of the Ethics Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Prior to that, he held positions including General Counsel / Director, Department of Legal Affairs, Director of Operations / Operational Support, and (Deputy) Field Director in Gaza and Syria. Before joining UNRWA, he was the Legal Officer of the Dutch Refugee Council for six years. A law graduate from the University
of Amsterdam, he obtained a Doctorate in International Law from the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

The Palestinian refugee crisis is one of the world's most misunderstood issues, as well as a moral stain on the international community's conscience. If true change begins with understanding, then the second edition of Palestinian Refugees in International Law is an indispensable starting place. Accessible, deeply researched, and alive to the political and legal complexities of the refugee issue, this book is a lucid and responsible exploration of an
enduring social problem that is too often shrouded in polemics and mythmaking. How I wish that more books on the Middle East were as intrepid and clear-sighted as this one.

Michael Lynk, Associate Professor of Law, Western University, London, Ontario and UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967

Rather than merely an update of the first edition, this second edition of Palestinian Refugees in International Law is an expanded, all-encompassing overview and legal analysis of the complex plight of the Palestinian refugees from 1948 to the present. In view of their protracted time in exile - which should haunt us - and the recently tabled, partisan peace plan for the Middle East, the identification of the fundamental elements of a comprehensive refugee
response framework for the eight million Palestinian refugees with which the book ends, could not have come at a better time.

Marjoleine Zieck, Professor of International Refugee Law, Amsterdam Law School, University of Amsterdam

The question of Palestinian refugees proves to be an indelible issue that has survived all challenges for over seventy years. This excellent book takes our understanding of Palestinian refugee rights under international law - with their historical, factual, and legal underpinnings - to a new horizon. It is at present the most thorough and most comprehensive treatise on this subject, and it will be unwise to address the Palestinian refugee issue without consulting it.
It will no doubt stand as the bible on the Palestinian refugee question under international law for many years to come.

Anis Kassim, International Lawyer, Chief Editor of The Palestine Yearbook of International Law