In honor of this year’s “Nakba Day”, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s foreign affairs department has released a public statement reaffirming its commitment to what it calls the “right of return” of millions of Arabs to live within the State of Israel.

According to the statement, the PLO considers the right of return of millions of “refugees” and their descendants to be a basic national Palestinian right, and an essential part of any future final status agreement.

“The right of return will remain one of the basic Palestinian national principles, and [the Palestinian nation] will never surrender it, as it is a historic right, [one that is] legal and holy and that cannot be annulled, in keeping with international law, rulings by international institutions, UN General Assembly Resolution 194, and decisions by the Arab League.”

The PLO also called to put an end to the “plight” of the more than 5.59 million “Palestinian refugees” recognized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Israel has refused to accept the notion of a Palestinian “right of return”, which if accepted in a final status agreement, could open the door to mass immigration that would effectively dismantle the Jewish state.