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​Middle East analyst Asaf Romirowsky addresses students on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Hoos for Israel, College Republicans sponsor Middle East Forum fellow

Middle East analyst Asaf Romirowsky addressed students on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Tuesday in an event hosted by Hoos for Israel and cosponsored by the College Republicans, focusing on the historical context of the conflict and the obstacles to a settlement.

Romirowsky, a fellow at the Middle East Forum and former Israel Defense Forces international relations liaison to the West Bank and Gaza, said “the right of return is the number one issue” preventing a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, referencing the belief that Palestinian refugees and their descendants have a right to return to Israel and a right to the property they left behind.

“It ensures the conflict will never end,” he said.

The problem, Romirowsky said, is that the belief in the Palestinian right to return is embedded within the Palestinian identity.

Vice President of Hoos for Israel Polina Karachunsky, a third-year College student, echoed Romirowsky's sentiment.

“[United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] defines refugee status as inheritable,” she said. “Defining 8 million people as refugees is a point that is often overlooked. The real obstacle for peace … for Israel, at this point, is the right of return.”

Romirowsky also criticized UNRWA, saying it was seen by many in Israel as too closely affiliated with Hamas.

UNRWA has condemned the placement of Hamas rockets in its schools, as well as the confiscation of its supplies by Hamas. The organization receives the majority of its funding from the U.S. government, but has been criticized for failing to conduct sufficient background checks on its employees, distributing textbooks with anti-Semitic content and general inefficiency.

“UNRWA has given up its humanitarian integrity,” Romirowsky said.

Romirowsky also highlighted the difficulty of negotiating with Hamas.

“Hamas’ charter still calls openly for the destruction of the state of Israel,” he said.

He said negotiation will remain difficult “until there is a clear and significant marginalization of Hamas within Palestinian society” and the creation “of some kind of semi-parliamentary system” in the Palestinian territories.

Romirowsky also said the division between the West Bank and Gaza populations further complicates the conflict.

“One of the biggest myths of Palestinian society … [is] the impression that it is one cohesive, united society,” he said. “It couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Romirowsky noted that Yasser Arafat, former president of the Palestinian National Authority, “was able to represent both the West Bank and Gaza.” He said is not the case for current Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“Abbas is a West Banker,” he said. “[When he visited Gaza,] they fired live ammunition at him.”

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