Within the context of the
Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, the Right of Return has two connotations: For the 700,000-800,000 Palestinians who became refugees as a consequence of al-Nakba or the
1967 War, and for their descendants, the Right of Return refers to the refugees' right to return to their pre-1948 and/or pre-1967 homes and lands, or to receive compensation if they freely choose not to return. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 affirms this right, as does Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it has yet to be implemented. The Right of Return for Palestinians remains one of the central issues to be resolved in a political solution between
Israel and the Palestinians. By contrast, under the Israeli Law of Return, the Right of Return refers to the right of all Jews worldwide to make Aliyah (immigration) to Israel and receive immediate Israeli citizenship. The Law of Return, which was passed in 1950, was meant to facilitate the ingathering of all Jews worldwide and to bolster the Zionist vision of a Jewish state. See "
Israel, Palestine and the Occupied Territories: The Right of Return of Palestinian Refugees," Global Policy Forum.