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Background |
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The Palestinian refugee problem was created as the result of two wars (An-Naqba of 1948 and An-Naqsa of 1967), massa-cres, and other aggressions perpetrated by Jewish underground and terror groups such as Haganah, Irgun, and Stern. After the War of 1948, the UN Conciliation Commission estimated that 726,000 Palestinians had fled outside while 32,000 remained within the armistice lines. Of the 800,000 Arabs originally situated in the area that became Israel, only some 150,000 remained in their homes, becoming an Arab minority in the Jewish state; some 531 villages and towns were destroyed or resettled with Jews. The total losses of destroyed or confiscated Palestinian property is estimated at US$209 billion. In addition to the refugees, there are the internally displaced Palestinians, who were expelled from their villages located in what became Israel - during the 1948 War. At the end of the war, they numbered some 30-40,000 people who were not allowed internally to return to their homes and placed under military rule to facilitate the expropriation of their land. Until today, Israel does not recognize internally displaced Palestinians, whose number is estimated at 263,000-300,000 (BADIL Center, Bethlehem). In 1950, 914,221 refugees were registered with UNRWA. In 1967, some 300,000 Palestinians were displaced from the west Bank & Gaza Strip (WBGS) including around 175,000 UN-RWA registered refugees who became refugees for a second time. Today, the total refugee population registered with UNRWA numbers almost 4 million. After Oslo, all camps in the WBGS except Shu'fat Camp in Jerusalem came under the control of the PA, but the overall fate of the refugees remains one of the most complex issues still awaiting a solution in the context of the 'final status' talks between the PLO/PA and Israel. The Israeli position rejects the 'right of return' for the refugees and dis-placed persons given the direct (demographic) threat to Israeli statehood. Israel wants to solve the problem by resettlement in Arab host countries, international efforts to improve the refugees' living conditions, and restricted readmission based on humanitarian considerations. The Palestinians, conversely, demand the absolute 'right of return'to the area of mandatory Palestine for all Palestinian refugees of 1948, based on UNGA Res. 194 (Dec. 1948), which recognized the right of refugees to return or receive compensation ("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 ... compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return"). Therefore, they have generally refused the initiation of any projects inside the camps that imply permanence or encourage refugees to remain where they are. |
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UNRWA Registered Refugees (June 2002) |
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** Three additional neighbourhoods in Amman, Zarqa and
Madaba are considered 'unofficial' camps by UNRWA. *Some 50% of Palestinian refugees in the Diaspora are not registered with UNRWA because of its narrow definition, according to which refugees are only persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the War of 1948, and who took refuge in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Jordanian-ruled West Bank or the Egyptian-administered Gaza Strip. The definition covers the descendants of those refugees, but does not include refugees who fled elsewhere, those displaced in 1967 (at least 325,000) unless they were already registered with UNRWA, or those who were outside the WBGS in 1967. Also not included are those WBGS Palestinians who overstayed their permits while abroad, and thus have not been allowed to return. There are over 50,000 such cases. |
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Living Conditions |
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One of the problems Palestinian
refugees face is that Arab states do not grant foreigners full residency
status. In Lebanon, refugees face the harshest condi-tions;
their Lebanese travel documents are not recognized by most countries
in the world, they must obtain work permits issued by the Lebanese
authorities and are not allowed to work in the public sector at all,
nor in over 70 professions in the private sector. In Syria,
refugees enjoy the same rights as Syrian citizens with the exception
of the right to vote, hold office, or possess Syrian passports. Instead,
they hold travel documents, which are not recognized by many governments.
In Jordan, the situation is best: Palestinians are
considered citizens and carry regular Jordanian passports, are entitled
to vote and to hold office, enjoy full rights to public services,
such as higher education, and can work in the government sector. An
exception are the ca. 100,000 refugees from Gaza (under Egyptian control
from 1948-1967), who are only eligible for temporary Jordanian passports.
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Distribution of UNRWA Registered Refugees by District and Camps (RC) |
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| Recommended Research
Sources :
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http://www.badil.org/
(Badil Canter for Refugee and Residency Rights)
Abu Sitta, Salman.
From Refugees to Citizens at Home. London: Palestine Land
Society and Palestinian Return Center, Sept. 2001. |
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| Copyright (c) 2004 General Mission of Palestine. All Rights Reserved. |