Israeli Arabs, former residents of the village of Biram in upper Galilee, have renewed their long standing appeal for permission to return to the site of the village which was razed by the Israel army years ago.
About 100 Arabs demonstrated outside Premier Menachem Begin’s office today, urging him to fulfill a campaign promise that he would allow their return. The villagers were forced to leave their homes in 1949, after Israel’s war for independence. They were told they could return in “a matter of days” but were never allowed to.
The reason given was that Biram’s proximity to the Lebanese border posed a security threat if it was repopulated. Although many prominent Israelis, including Cabinet ministers supported the villagers’ repeated appeals, they were adamantly rejected by the late Premier Golda Meir. The villagers argue that as a result of last summer’s war in Lebanon, a security threat no longer exists. Moreover, they say, they have proven their loyalty to Israel over the years.
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