I was thinking about the parallels to the expulsion of Germans (sorry!) from the former easter territories like Silesia or East Prussia by the Russians at the end of WW2. Had been German for centuries.
For years this wasn't recognised by the West German government and the expellees themselves. Finally Brandt emerged as Chancellor and faced facts - this loss of territory, whether justified or not (they were by majority Hitler supporters), was never going to be reversed. The land is now Polish, that's settled, and recognised under international law.
Enter the EU, and Germans due to freedom of movement have the right to settle and live in Poland. They do not have a right as I see it to move in such large numbers as to re-Germanise areas and then agitate to become part of Germany again - there are areas with a large German minority. They would need to learn the language and integrate. In any event there are now very few who can even remember the initial expulsions, all in their mid 80's or over.
Further, it would be unjust to re-expel the Poles who have settled in these territories, most of whom were born there.
Similarly with Palestinians and Israel. Israel exists, is recognised as a country by the international community and is a member of the UN. Has a right of self defence. Very few of the Palestinians who were forced out during the initial formation of Israel and the attempted partition of the British mandate just after WW2 are still alive. Any peace deal that included a right of return for their descendants would have to stipulate that they cannot attempt to reverse the existence of the Jewish state. It would have to parallel Germans living in Poland.
