Abstract
In the period from 1947 to 1953, United States policy towards Israel related to the Palestinian property rights was not supportive nor significantly critical. The Israeli government dispossessed the Palestinians and took over their land while the US sought stability in the region and only vaguely protested the expropriation. President Harry S. Truman and his Israel-friendly advisers in the White House retracted from any politics that required the US to sanction Israel. Because it lacked support from the White House, the US State Department had to retreat from plans that forced Israel to repatriate the Palestinians and return their properties. The United States policy turned from favoring repatriation of the Palestinians to admitting to the solution of resettlement and compensation. Thereafter it left the problem to the United Nation, instead contributing aid money to the refugees. This thesis examines the path US policy on Palestinian property rights took during these six years and the reasons for the outcome.