| |
Palestinian Refugees
Estimates
vary of the number of Palestinians refugees displaced from within what
became known as the borders of Israel in 1948. In 1949, the United
Nations Conciliation Commission put the number at 726,000; the
newly-established United Nations Relief and Works Agency subsequently
put the number at 957,000 in 1950. The Israeli government has in the
past suggested numbers as low as 520,000, while Palestinian researchers
have suggested up to 850,000. Of this population, approximately
one-third fled to the West Bank, another third to the Gaza Strip, and
the remainder to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon or further afield.
TABLE 1:
Distribution of UNRWA-Registered Refugees by District of Origin
(June 1992)
|
|
JERUSALEM
(inc. al-Khalil, Hebron, Ramallah) |
GAZA
(inc. Beersheba) |
LYDDA
(inc. Jaffa, Ramla') |
NABLUS
(inc. Jenin, Tulkarem) |
HAIFA |
GALILEE
(inc. Acre, Belsan, Nazareth, Safad, Tiberius) |
OTHERS |
TOTAL |
|
Gaza Strip |
1,120 |
366,193 |
188,620 |
922 |
2,948 |
363 |
41 |
560,207 |
|
Jordan |
212,279 |
170,989 |
415,882 |
29,973 |
88,825 |
92,651 |
120 |
1,010,719 |
|
Lebanon |
1,583 |
411 |
26,871 |
394 |
61,420 |
228,580 |
168 |
319,427 |
|
Syria |
1,923 |
1,295 |
18,505 |
492 |
67,422 |
209,516 |
54 |
299,207 |
|
West Bank |
150,688 |
27,889 |
137,656 |
55,331 |
77,475 |
10,030 |
78 |
459,147 |
|
TOTAL |
367,593 |
566,777 |
787,534 |
87,112 |
298,090 |
541,140 |
461 |
2,648,707 |
In 1967, another
300,000 Palestinians fled from the West Bank and Gaza, to Jordan
(200,000), Syria, Egypt and elsewhere. Of these, approximately 180,000
were first-time refugees ("displaced persons"), while the remainder were
1948 refugees uprooted for the second time.
Estimates put the Palestinian population at approximately 6.6 million in
1995. In 1995, UNRWA data showed some 3,172,641 registered refugees in
its "area of operation" (West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon), plus
an estimated 335,000 non-registered "displaced persons".
TABLE 2:
UNRWA Registered Refugees (June 1995)
Since the initiation of the Middle East peace process in Madrid in 1991,
the refugee issue has been addressed by Palestinians, Israel, other
regional parties and outside actors in a variety of political frameworks.
|
|
In Camps |
Not in Camps |
Total |
|
Jordan |
238,188 |
1,050,009 |
1,288,197 |
|
West Bank |
131,705 |
385,707 |
517,412 |
|
Gaza |
362,626 |
320,934 |
683,560 |
|
Lebanon |
175,747 |
170,417 |
346,164 |
|
Syria |
83,311 |
253,997 |
337,308 |
|
TOTAL |
991,577 |
2,181,064 |
3,172,641 |
|
