According to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, there has been talk of giving up the Palestinian refugees' right of return in exchange for the dismantling of illegal Jewish settlements built on privately-owned Palestinian land in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This is one of the ideas floating around which will to be introduced at the international conference the US is planning as soon as next month in Turkey.

The right of return is sacred for the Palestinians; most refugees still hold the keys to their homes that are inhabited by Jewish immigrants. Palestinian refugees where forced out of their homes at gunpoint and have not been allowed to return or offered compensation for 54 years of dispossession. The right of return is guaranteed by UN resolution 194, which has been ignored by Israel. The return of the refugees was a precondition for allowing Israel to become a member of the United Nations, but once again that rights and legality have been disregarded by Israel.

On the other side of the equation, the Palestinians are being offered what is already internationally recognized as theirs. In accordance to international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, any demographic change by the occupier (Israel) to the territories it occupies is illegal. Israel has no right to build settlements in the first place and even America, Israel's greatest friend and Mid-East mediator, has condemned settlement activity and called on Israel to honor the agreements signed in 93'.

Nevertheless, the Palestinian leadership has acknowledged Israel's demographic fears and holds a reasonable position on the right of return, accepting compensation and negotiation over the issue at hand. The Madrid peace conference talked about land for peace based on UN resolutions and 1967 borders, this in itself was a great sacrifice offered by the Palestinians who recognized Israel's right to exist on pre-1967 boundaries. It is now time for Israel to truly prepare its people for peace.

The equation is already not fair and the mediator is biased, but even so this might be a good start for curbing the violence and offering the Palestinians some hope of peace and coexistence. The main question remains: will the US demand of Israel what the international committee has long awaited-justice for the Palestinians?