The Right of Return.

There are a number of contentions facing the Israelis and Palestinians. One major difficulty is what as known as the "right of return". The right of return is a principle in international law that states a group has the right to immigrate or naturalize to what is considered to be their homeland. An example of this law was when a "right to return" law passed in 1950 for Jews around the world who wanted to immigrate or move back to their original homeland.

Now here is the problem we have in the little chunk of land called, the Holy Land. On one side of the conflict, Palestinians have been claiming they have the right to return to their homeland ever since the war of 1948 and 1967.

Israel on the other hand claims the land that has been settled since their christening as a state and the 6 day war, is Israeli land, not Palestinian. Both groups are pointing their fingers, putting blame someone else. It boils down to giving in and compromising a bit. The Israelis and the Palestinians are at fault, maybe not equally, but they are both in the same boat.

In a recent news story Israel leadership stated they are not interested in ceasing development of settlements near the West Bank. Israel believes this real estate is theirs and should be treated as such. U.S. President, Barak Obama is asking Israel to stop developing in the West Bank. The U.S. sentiment concerning the region is a change of tone from years past. Obama is not anti-Israel by any means but he is letting Israel know, the world is sick of the conflict. As an answer to the displaced Palestinian families, Israel argued that Jordan should be the new "homeland" for the Palestinians.

Both sides are in for a new thinker. Obama does not seem like he is going to sit back and allow for either side to whine about why they are right. He is being active by trying to get them to engage in peace talks, meaningful peace talks. It is about time for this conflict to be put to a hault. I think there is enough real estate in that region to make everyone happy. Both sides need to approach the dilemma with humility and think about the bigger picture. Peace in the regioin would allow for all parties involved to flourish.