Palestinian refugees are citizens ofMandatory Palestine, and their descendants, whofled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the1948 Palestine warand during the 1967Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refugees live in or near 68Palestinian refugee camps acrossJordan,Lebanon,Syria, theWest Bank and theGaza Strip, and make up a large proportion of thePalestinian people. In 2019 more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations.[citation needed]
In 1949, theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) defined Palestinian refugees to refer to the original "Palestine refugees" as well as theirpatrilineal descendants. However, UNRWA's assistance is limited to Palestine refugees residing in UNRWA's areas of operation in the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.[1][2]
As of 2019, more than 5.6 million Palestinians were registered with UNRWA as refugees,[3] of which more than 1.5 million live in UNRWA-run camps.[4] The term "Palestine refugee" does not includeinternally displaced Palestinians, who became Israeli citizens, or displacedPalestinian Jews. According to some estimates, as many as 1,050,000–1,380,000[5] people, who descend from displaced people of Mandatory Palestine are not registered under UNRWA or UNHCR mandates.
During the1948 Palestine War, around 85% of the population or 700,000[fn 1] Palestinian Arabs, living in the area that became Israelfled or were expelled from their homes, to theWest Bank, theGaza Strip, and to the countries ofLebanon,Syria andJordan.[6] They, and their descendants who are also entitled to registration, are assisted by UNWRA in 59 registered camps, ten of which were established in the aftermath of theSix-Day War in 1967 to cope with the new wave of displaced Palestinians.[7] They are also the world's oldest unsettled refugee population, having been under the ongoing governance of Arab states following the1948 Arab–Israeli War, the refugee populations of the West Bank under Israeli governance since the Six-Day War and Palestinian administration since 1994, and the Gaza Strip administered by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) since 2007.
Today, the largest number of refugees, over 2,000,000, live in Jordan, where by 2009 over 90% ofUNWRA-registered Palestinian refugees had acquired full citizenship rights. This figure consists almost exclusively of West Bank–descended Palestinians;[a] however, as of December 2021, Palestinians with roots in the Gaza Strip are also still kept in legal limbo. In 2021, Jordanian politicianJawad Anani estimated that roughly 50% ofJordan's population had West Bank–Palestinian roots.[b][8][9][10][11] Another approximately 2,000,000 refugees live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, under Israeli occupation and blockade. Approximately 500,000 refugees live in each of Syria and Lebanon respectively, albeit under very different circumstances. While Palestinian refugees in Syria maintained their stateless status, the Syrian government during Assad's rule afforded them the same economic and social rights enjoyed by Syrian citizens;[12] they were alsodrafted into theArmed Forces despite not being citizens.[13][14] Citizenship or legal residency in some host countries is denied, most notably for thePalestinian refugees in Lebanon, where the absorption of Palestinians would upset a delicateconfessional balance. For the refugees themselves, these situations mean they have reduced rights: no right to vote, limited property rights and access to social services, among other things.
On 11 December 1948, theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) adoptedResolution 194 which affirmed thePalestinians right to return to their homes.[15][16]
TheUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is an organ of theUnited Nations created exclusively for the purpose of aiding those displaced by theArab–Israeli conflict, with an annual budget of approximately $600 million.[17] It defines a "Palestine refugee" as a person "whose normal place of residence wasMandatory Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli conflict".[18] TheSix-Day War of 1967 generated a new wave of Palestinian refugees who could not be included in the original UNRWA definition. From 1991, the UN General Assembly has adopted an annual resolution allowing the 1967 refugees within the UNRWA mandate.[19] UNRWA aids all "those living in its area of operations who meet its working definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance"[20] and those who first became refugees as a result of the Six-Day War, regardless whether they reside in areas designated asPalestine refugee camps or in other permanent communities.
A Palestine refugee camp is "a plot of land placed at the disposal of UNRWA by the host government to accommodate Palestine refugees and to set up facilities to cater to their needs".[21] About 1.4 million of registered Palestine refugees, approximately one-third, live in the 58 UNRWA-recognised refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.[22] The UNRWA definition does not cover final status.[22][23]
Registered descendants of UNRWA Palestine refugees, like "Nansen passport" and "Certificate of Eligibility" holders (the documents issued to those displaced by World War II) or like UNHCR refugees,[24] inherit the same Palestine refugee status as their male parent. According to UNRWA, "The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including adopted children, are also eligible for registration."[25]
TheUNHCR had counted 90,000 refugees by 2014.[26]
Palestinians make several distinctions relating to Palestinian refugees. The 1948 refugees and their descendants are broadly defined as "refugees" (laji'un). ThePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO), especially those who have returned and form part of thePNA, but also Palestinian refugee camp residents in Lebanon, repudiate this term, since it implies being a passive victim, and prefer theautonym of 'returnees' (a'idun).[27] Those who left since 1967, and their descendants, are callednazihun or "displaced persons", though many may also descend from the 1948 group.[28]
| Part ofa series on the |
| Nakba |
|---|
_(cropped).jpg) |
Most Palestinian refugees have retained their refugee status and continue to reside in refugee camps, including within theState of Palestine in the West Bank and in theGaza Strip. Their descendants form a sizable portion of thePalestinian diaspora.
During the1948 Palestine War, some 700,000[6][fn 1] Palestinian Arabs or 85% of the Palestinian Arab population of territories that became Israelfled or were expelled from their homes.[6] Some 30,000[29] to 50,000[citation needed] were alive by 2012.
The causes and responsibilities of the exodus are a matter of controversy among historians and commentators of the conflict.[30] While historians agree on most of the events of the period, there remains disagreement as to whether the exodus was the result of a plan designed before or during the war or was an unintended consequence of the war.[31] According to historianBenny Morris, the expulsion was planned and encouraged by the Zionist leadership.[32]
According to Morris, between December 1947 and March 1948, around 100,000 Palestine Arabs fled. Among them were many from the higher and middle classes from the cities, who left voluntarily, expecting to return when the Arab states won the war and took control of the country.[33] When theHaganah and then the emergingIsraeli army (Israel Defense Forces or IDF) went on the defensive, between April and July, a further 250,000 to 300,000 Palestinian Arabs left or were expelled, mainly from the towns ofHaifa,Tiberias,Beit-Shean,Safed,Jaffa andAcre, which lost more than 90 percent of their Arab inhabitants.[34] Expulsions took place in many towns and villages, particularly along theTel Aviv–Jerusalem road[35] and in EasternGalilee.[36] About 50,000–70,000 inhabitants ofLydda and Ramle were expelled towardsRamallah by the IDF duringOperation Danny,[37] and most others during operations of the IDF in its rear areas.[38] DuringOperation Dekel, the Arabs ofNazareth and South Galilee were allowed to remain in their homes.[39] Today they form the core of theArab Israeli population. From October to November 1948, the IDF launchedOperation Yoav to removeEgyptian forces from theNegev andOperation Hiram to remove theArab Liberation Army from North Galilee during which at least nine events named massacres of Arabs were carried out by IDF soldiers.[40] These events generated an exodus of 200,000 to 220,000 Palestinian Arabs. Here, Arabs fled fearing atrocities or were expelled if they had not fled.[41] After the war, from 1948 to 1950, the IDF resettled around 30,000 to 40,000 Arabs from the borderlands of the new Israeli state.[42]
As a result of theSix-Day War, around 280,000 to 325,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled[43] from the territories conquered in theSix-Day War by Israel, including the demolished Palestinian villages ofImwas,Yalo,Bayt Nuba,Surit,Beit Awwa,Beit Mirsem,Shuyukh,Jiftlik,Agarith andHuseirat, and the "emptying" of the refugee camps ofAqabat Jabr andEin as-Sultan.[44][45]
ThePalestinian exodus from Kuwait took place during and after theGulf War. During the Gulf War, more than 200,000 Palestinians voluntarily fled Kuwait during theIraqi occupation of Kuwait due to harassment and intimidation byIraqi security forces,[46] in addition to getting fired from work by Iraqi authority figures in Kuwait.[46] After the Gulf War,Kuwaiti authorities forcibly pressured nearly 200,000 Palestinians to leave Kuwait in 1991.[46] Kuwait's policy, which led to this exodus, was a response to alignment of Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) with the dictatorSaddam Hussein, who had earlier invaded Kuwait.
Prior to the Gulf War, Palestinians numbered 400,000 out ofKuwait's population of 2.2 million.[47] The Palestinians who fled Kuwait wereJordanian citizens.[48] In 2013, there were 280,000 Jordanian citizens of Palestinian origin in Kuwait.[49] In 2012, 80,000 Palestinians (without Jordaniancitizenship) lived in Kuwait.[50] In total, there are 360,000 Palestinians in Kuwait as of 2012–2013.
Many Palestinians in Syria were displaced as a result of theSyrian Civil War starting in 2011. By October 2013, 235,000 Palestinians had been displaced within Syria itself and 60,000 (alongside 2.2 million Syrians) had fled the country.[51] By March 2019, the UHCR estimated that 120,000 Palestine refugees had fled Syria since 2011, primarily to Lebanon and Jordan, but also Turkey and further afield.[52]
There were reports thatJordan andLebanon had turned away Palestinian refugees attempting to flee the humanitarian crises in Syria.[53] By 2013, Jordan had absorbed 126,000 Syrian refugees but Palestinians fleeing Syria were placed in a separate refugee camp under stricter conditions and banned from entering Jordanian cities.[54]
Palestinian refugees from Syria also sought asylum inEurope, especiallySweden, which had offered asylum to any Syrian refugees that managed to reach its territory, albeit with some conditions. Many did so by finding their way toEgypt and making the journey by sea. In October 2013, thePFLP-GC claimed that some 23,000 Palestinian refugees from theYarmouk Camp alone had immigrated to Sweden.[55]
As of January 2024, more than 85% of Palestinians in Gaza, approximately 1.9 million people, were internally displaced during theGaza war.[56] Some wounded Palestinians from Gaza were allowed to leave for Egypt.[57] As of 2025, there are over 100,000 Gazan refugees living in Egypt.[58]
The number of Palestine refugees varies depending on the source. For 1948–49 refugees, for example, theIsraeli government suggests a number as low as 520,000 as opposed to 850,000 by their Palestinian counterparts.[citation needed] As of January 2015, UNRWA cites 5,149,742 registered refugees in total, of whom 1,603,018 are registered in camps.[59]
| District | Number of depopulated villages | Number of refugees in 1948 | Number of refugees in 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beersheba | 88 | 90,507 | 590,231 | |||
| Beisan | 31 | 19,602 | 127,832 | |||
| Jenin | 6 | 4,005 | 26,118 | |||
| Haifa | 59 | 121,196 | 790,365 | |||
| Hebron | 16 | 22,991 | 149,933 | |||
| Ramle | 64 | 97,405 | 635,215 | |||
| Safad | 78 | 52,248 | 340,729 | |||
| Tiberias | 26 | 28,872 | 188,285 | |||
| Tulkarm | 18 | 11,032 | 71,944 | |||
| Acre | 30 | 47,038 | 306,753 | |||
| Gaza | 46 | 79,947 | 521,360 | |||
| Jerusalem | 39 | 97,950 | 638,769 | |||
| Nazareth | 5 | 8,746 | 57,036 | |||
| Jaffa | 25 | 123,227 | 803,610 | |||
| Total | 531 | 804,766 | 5,248,185 | |||
| Demography of Palestine[60] | ||||||
The number of UNRWA registered Palestine refugees by country or territory in January 2015 were as follows:[59]
 Jordan | 2,117,361 |
 Gaza Strip | 1,276,929 |
| West Bank | 774,167 |
 Syria | 528,616 |
 Lebanon | 452,669 |
| Total | 5,149,742 |
As of January 2015, theGaza Strip has 8 UNRWA refugee camps with 560,964 Palestinian refugees, and 1,276,929 registered refugees in total,[59] out of a population of 1,816,379.[citation needed]
As of January 2015, theWest Bank has 19 UNRWA refugee camps with 228,560 Palestinian refugees, and 774,167 registered refugees in total,[59] out of a population of 2,345,107.[citation needed]
"More than 2 million registered Palestine refugees live in Jordan. Most Palestine refugees in Jordan, but not all, have full citizenship",[61] followingJordan's annexation and occupation of the West Bank. The percentage of Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps to those who settled outside the camps is the lowest of all UNRWA fields of operations. Palestine refugees are allowed access to public services and healthcare, as a result, refugee camps are becoming more like poor city suburbs than refugee camps. Most Palestine refugees moved out of the camps to other parts of the country and the number of people registered in refugee camps as of January 2015 is 385,418, who live in ten refugee camps.[59] This caused UNRWA to reduce the budget allocated to Palestine refugee camps in Jordan. Former UNRWA chief-attorney James G. Lindsay wrote in 2009: "In Jordan, where 2 million Palestinian refugees live, all but 167,000 have citizenship, and are fully eligible for government services including education and health care." Lindsay suggests that eliminating services to refugees whose needs are subsidized byJordan "would reduce the refugee list by 40%".[62][9]
Palestinians who moved from theWest Bank (whether refugees or not) to Jordan, are issued yellow-ID cards to distinguish them from the Palestinians of the "official 10 refugee camps" in Jordan. From 1988 to 2012, thousands of those yellow-ID card Palestinians had their Jordanian citizenship revoked.Human Rights Watch estimated that about 2,700 Palestinians were stripped of Jordanian nationality between 2004 and 2008.[63] In 2012, the Jordanian government promised to stop revoking the citizenship of some Palestinians, and restored citizenship to 4,500 Palestinians who had previously lost it.[64]
.jpg)
100,000 Palestinians fled to Lebanon because of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and were not allowed to return.[65] As of January 2015, there were 452,669 registered refugees in Lebanon.[59]
In a 2007 study,Amnesty International denounced the "appalling social and economic condition" of Palestinians in Lebanon.[65] Until 2005, Palestinians were forbidden to work in over 70 jobs because they do not have Lebanese citizenship, but this was later reduced to around 20 as of 2007 after liberalization laws.[65] In 2010, Palestinians were granted the same rights to work as other foreigners in the country.[66]
Lebanon gave citizenship to about 50,000 Christian Palestinian refugees during the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid-1990s, about 60,000 Shiite Muslim refugees were granted citizenship. This caused a protest from Maronite authorities, leading to citizenship being given to all Christian refugees who were not already citizens.[67]
In the 2010s, many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon began immigrating to Europe, both legally and illegally, as part of theEuropean migrant crisis, due to a deterioration in living conditions there as part of theSyrian civil war. In December 2015, sources toldAl Jazeera that thousands of Palestinians were fleeing to Europe by way ofTurkey, with about 4,000 having fled theAin al-Hilweh camp alone in recent months. Many were reachingGermany, with others going toRussia,Sweden,Belgium, andNorway.[68] A census completed in January 2018 found that only around 175,000 Palestinian refugees were living in Lebanon, as opposed to previous UNRWA figures which put the number at between 400,000 and 500,000, as well as other estimates that placed the number between 260,000 and 280,000.[69][70]
According to writer and researcher Mudar Zahran, a Jordanian of Palestinian heritage, the media chose to deliberately ignore the conditions of the Palestinians living in Lebanese refugee camps, and that the "tendency to blame Israel for everything" has provided Arab leaders with an excuse to deliberately ignore the human rights of the Palestinian in their countries.[71]
Syria had 528,616 registered Palestinian refugees in January 2015. There were 9 UNRWA refugee camps with 178,666 official Palestinian refugees.[59]
As a result of theSyrian civil war, large numbers of Palestinian refugees fled Syria to Europe as part of theEuropean migrant crisis, and to other Arab countries. In September 2015, a Palestinian official said that only 200,000 Palestinian refugees were left in Syria, with 100,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria in Europe and the remainder in other Arab countries.[72]
An estimated 240,000Palestinians are living in Saudi Arabia.
There were 34,000 Palestinian refugees living in Iraq prior to theIraq War. In the aftermath of the war, the majority fled to neighboring Jordan and Syria, or were killed.[citation needed] Thousands lived asinternally displaced persons within Iraq or were stranded in camps along Iraq's borders with Jordan and Syria, as no country in the region would accept them, and lived in temporary camps along theno man's land in the border zones.
India agreed to take in 165 refugees, with the first group arriving in March 2006. Generally, they were unable to find work in India as they spoke only Arabic though some found employment withUNHCR's non-governmental partners. All of them were provided with free access to public hospitals. Of the 165 refugees, 137 of them later found clearance for resettlement inSweden.[73] In November 2006, 54 were granted asylum inCanada, and in 2007, some 200 were accepted for resettlement in Sweden andIceland, andBrazil agreed to take 100.[74][75]
In 2009, significant numbers of these refugees were allowed toresettle abroad. More than 1,000 were accepted by various countries in Europe and South America, and an additional 1,350 were cleared for resettlement in the United States.[76][77] Another 68 were allowed to resettle in Australia.[78] However, the majority of Palestine refugees strongly oppose resettlement and much rather want toreturn to their homes inthe region of Palestine.[79]
| Part of a series on theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Israeli–Palestinian peace process | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
History
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Proposals
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On 11 December 1948 theUnited Nations General Assembly discussed Bernadotte's report and passed a resolution: "that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbour should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date."[80] This General Assembly article 11 ofResolution 194 has been annually re-affirmed.[15][81]
The Jewish Agency promised to the UN before 1948 that Palestinian Arabs would become full citizens of the State of Israel,[82] and theIsraeli declaration of independence invited the Arab inhabitants of Israel to "full and equal citizenship".[83] In practice, Israel does not grant citizenship to the refugees, as it does to those Arabs who continue to reside in its borders. The 1947Partition Plan determined citizenship based on residency, such that Arabs and Jews residing in Palestine but not in Jerusalem would obtain citizenship in the state in which they are resident. Professor of Law at Boston UniversitySusan Akram,Omar Barghouti andIlan Pappé have argued that Palestinian refugees from the envisioned Jewish State were entitled to normal Israeli citizenship based on laws ofstate succession.[84][85]
Following theSix-Day War in 1967, Israel gained control over a substantial number of refugee camps in the territories it captured fromEgypt andJordan. The Israeli government attempted to resettle them permanently by initiating a subsidized "build-your-own home" program. Israel provided land for refugees who chose to participate; the Palestinians bought building materials on credit and built their own houses, usually with friends. Israel provided the new neighborhoods with necessary services, such as schools and sewers.[86] TheUnited Nations General Assembly passed Resolutions 31/15 and 34/52, which condemned the program as a violation of the refugees' "inalienableright of return", and called upon Israel to stop the program.[87] Thousands of refugees were resettled into various neighborhoods, but the program was suspended due to pressure from the PLO.[86]
Most Palestinian refugees live either in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, or the three original "host countries" of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria who unwillingly accepted the first wave of refugees in 1948; these refugees are supported byUNRWA. The small number of refugees who settled in Egypt or Iraq were supported directly by those countries' governments. Over the last seven decades, a number of refugees have migrated to other Arab states, particularly theArab states of the Gulf, primarily aseconomic migrants.[88]
Arab states' view of Palestinian refugees has varied over time. Arab governments have often supported the refugees in the name ofArab unity, or because they viewed the Palestinians as an important source of skilledhuman capital to support their economic development. However, Arab governments have also frequently "despised" the Palestinian refugees – either viewing them as a threat to demographic balance (as in Lebanon), or because of the "political message of freedom and emancipation that their ‘Palestinian-ness’ carried", or else because in some countries' history Palestinians have been "somewhat associated with strife and unrest".[89]
Palestinian refugees have taken citizenship in other Arab states, most notably inJordan. However, the conferring of citizenship is a sensitive topic, as "it is often perceived as allowing Israel to evade its responsibility towards the refugees".[90] On 17 October 2023 during theGaza war,Jordan'sking Abdullah warned against pushing refugees into Egypt or Jordan, adding that the humanitarian situation must to be dealt with inside Gaza and the West Bank: "That is ared line, because I think that is the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and createde facto issues on the ground. No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt."[91]
Tashbih Sayyed, a fellow of theFoundation for Defense of Democracies, criticized Arab nations of violating human rights and making the children and grandchildren of Palestinian refugees second class citizens inLebanon,Syria, or theGulf States, and said that the UNRWA Palestine refugees "cling to the illusion that defeating the Jews will restore their dignity".[92]
Most Palestine refugees claim aPalestinian right of return. In lack of an own country, their claim is based on Article 13 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which declares that "Everyone has the right to leave any country including his own, and to return to his country", although it has been argued that the term only applies to citizens or nationals of that country. Although allArab League members at the time (1948) –Egypt,Iraq,Lebanon,Saudi Arabia,Syria, andYemen – voted against the resolution,[93] they also cite the article 11 ofUnited Nations General AssemblyResolution 194, which "Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return [...]."[81] However it is currently a matter of dispute whether Resolution 194 referred only to the estimated 50,000 remaining Palestine refugees from the 1948 Palestine War, or additionally to their UNRWA-registered 4,950,000 descendants. ThePalestinian National Authority supports this claim, and has been prepared to negotiate its implementation at the various peace talks. BothFatah andHamas hold a strong position for a claimedright of return, with Fatah being prepared to give ground on the issue while Hamas is not.[94]
However, a report in Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper in which Abdullah Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon and the chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council's Political and Parliamentary Affairs committees,[95] said the proposed future Palestinian state would not be issuing Palestinian passports to UNRWA Palestine refugees – even refugees living in the West Bank and Gaza.
An independent poll by Khalil Shikaki was conducted in 2003 with 4,500 Palestinian refugee families of Gaza, West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon. It showed that the majority (54%) would accept a financial compensation and a place to live in West Bank or Gaza in place of returning to the exact place in modern-day Israel where they or their ancestors lived (this possibility of settlement is contemplated in the Resolution 194). Only 10% said they would live in Israel if given the option. The other third said they would prefer to live in other countries, or rejected the terms described.[96] However, the poll has been criticized as "methodologically problematic" and "rigged".[97] In 2003, nearly a hundred refugee organizations and NGOs in Lebanon denounced Shikaki's survey, as no local organization was aware of its implementation in Lebanon.[98]
In a 2 January 2005 opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Association for Human Rights involving Palestinian refugees in Lebanon:[99]
Upon signing theOslo Accords in 1993, Israel, the EU and the US recognized PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In return,Yasser Arafat recognized the State of Israel and renounced terrorism. At the time, the accords were celebrated as a historic breakthrough. In accordance with these agreements, the Palestinian refugees began to be governed by an autonomousPalestinian Authority, and the parties agreed to negotiate the permanent status of the refugees, as early as 1996. However, events have halted the phasing process and made the likelihood of a future sovereign Palestinian state uncertain.[100] In another development, a rift developed between Fatah in the West-Bank and Hamas in Gaza afterHamas won the2006 elections. Among other differences, Fatah officially recognizes the Oslo Accords with Israel, whereas Hamas does not.
As of May 2012, theUnited States Senate Appropriations Committee approved a definition of a Palestine refugee to include only those original Palestine refugees who were actually displaced between June 1946 and May 1948, resulting in an estimated number of 30,000.[101]
The term 'refugees' applies to all persons, Arabs, Jews and others who have been displaced from their homes in Palestine. This would include Arabs in Israel who have been shifted from their normal places of residence. It would also include Jews who had their homes in Arab Palestine, such as the inhabitants of the Jewish quarter of the Old City. It would not include Arabs who lost their lands but not their houses, such as the inhabitants of Tulkarm
Persons who meet UNRWA's Palestine Refugee criteria These are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict. Palestine Refugees, and descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are eligible to register for UNRWA services. The Agency accepts new applications from persons who wish to be registered as Palestine Refugees. Once they are registered with UNRWA, persons in this category are referred to as Registered Refugees or as Registered Palestine Refugees.
Unlike Jordan, Syria has maintained the stateless status of its Palestinians but has afforded them the same economic and social rights enjoyed by Syrian citizens. According to a 1956 law, Palestinians are treated as if they are Syrians "in all matters pertaining to...the rights of employment, work, commerce, and national obligations". As a consequence, Palestinians in Syria do not suffer from massive unemployment or underemployment
But no expulsion policy was ever enunciated and Ben-Gurion always refrained from issuing clear or written expulsion orders; he preferred that his generals 'understand' what he wanted. He probably wished to avoid going down in history as the 'great expeller' and he did not want his government to be blamed for a morally questionable policy.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Palestine refugee camps locations and populations as of 2015[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
