In 1958, Israeli diplomat Abba Eban gave a speech at the UN Special Political Committee. He was not Prime Minister, but a key figure in Israeli diplomacy. He argued against letting Palestinian refugees return to their homes.

He said that repatriation would mean the refugees are "uprooted from the soil of nations to which they are akin and loyal and placed in a state to which they are alien and hostile."

Eban argued that Arab states should absorb the refugees instead. He also argued that Jewish refugees from Arab lands were absorbed into Israel, so Arab states should do the same. He claimed that Arab states kept the refugees in camps for political reasons.

This speech shows the early Israeli policy to deny the Palestinian right of return. The quote is reproduced in the archived article from The Jewish Press, which excerpts the speech. Source: The Jewish Press (archived), Abba Eban's 1958 UN speech.