Mostafa Fazaeli - Associate Professor of Department of International Law, Law faculty, University of Qom, Iran
Saeed Mokhtari - Ph.D. Student of International Law, Law Faculty, University of Qom, Iran

The return of Palestinian refugees to their ancestral lands remains a pressing human, political and legal issue in the third millennium. The present study aims at exploring the legal status of Palestinian refugees as well as investigating their right of return to their lands in an international law framework. In so doing, the role of nationality and the principle of genuine link between claimants of the right of return and the country of origin are examined. It is concluded that considering the historical context of the Palestinian territories, part of which is now called Israel and the other part is under the control of the Palestinian state, Palestinian refugees can pursue and demand their right of return. Obviously, neither the passage of time nor the refusal of the Israeli side undermines the existence and validity of their claim for the right of return. Library data and field studies are used in delineating concepts, analyzing theories and confirming research hypothesis in the study.

Palestinian refugees, Right of Return, International Human Rights Law, Nationality, genuine link