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Since 1920, the British mandate government has put Palestine in
a difficult economic, administrative, and political situation,
facilitating the establishment of a Jewish state and the
displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians through four
successive waves
of immigrations.
The First Wave: Approximately 30,000 Palestinians were forced to
leave the country during the period from January 1947 up to
March 1948.
The Second Wave: Over 300,000 Palestinians left West Jerusalem,
Tiberias, Haifa, Jafa, Beishan, and those who survived the Deir
Yasin massacre. These huge numbers were forced to leave during
the period from March 1948 up to May 1948. They were terrified
by the horrible massacre committed by Hagana and Stern forces
against innocent civilians in Deir Yasin village where the death
toll reached 250 persons including children, women, and elderly
people.
The Third Wave: The Israeli armed forces deported approximately
100,000 Palestinians from Lod and Ramlah cities to Jordan during
the period from May 1948 to December 1948.
The Fourth Wave: In view of the Israeli hostilities, which
continued even after the 1948 war, over 200,000 Palestinians
were forced to move to the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian refugee case is the largest and one of the
longest standing refugee cases in the world today. More than 6
million persons, comprising around three-quarters of the
Palestinian people, and nearly one-third of the global refugee
population, remain without a durable solution to their plight.
More than half of all Palestinian refugees lack basic day-to-day
protection, such as physical security, freedom of movement, and
access to employment.
It is estimated that there are more than 5.5 million Palestinian
refugees. The Palestinian refugee Diaspora spreads around the
world. The majority of Palestinian refugees, however, live
within 100 miles of the borders of Israel in neighboring Arab
host states. More than half the refugee population lives in
Jordan. Approximately one-quarter of the refugee population
lives in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Around 15 percent of
the refugee population resides in almost equal numbers in Syria
and Lebanon, with the remaining refugee population residing
inside Israel (internally displaced persons), in the Arab Gulf
and in Europe and the United States. Approximately one-third of
those refugees displaced in 1948 live in refugee camps located
in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
According to international law, refugees have the right to
return to their homes of origin, receive real property
restitution, and compensation for losses and damages. There are
three basic solutions to refugee problems: voluntary
repatriation (or return), voluntary host country integration,
and voluntary resettlement in a third country. Of these three
solutions only repatriation or return is a right recognized
under international law. Each of the three solutions mentioned
above is guided by the principle of voluntaries or refugee
choice.
On the other hand,
the state of
Israel refuses to allow Palestinian refugees to exercise their
basic human rights to return to their ancestral homes based on
several arguments:
Israeli officials have claimed that there is no space for the
refugees to return.
Israeli officials have also argued that the return of
Palestinian refugees would create a security risk and lead to
conflict.
Israel rejects the return of the refugees because it would
change what it calls the Jewish character of the state. The
Jewish character of the state is based on a permanent Jewish
majority, special privileges for Jewish citizens, residents and
non-residents that are set forth in Israel’s laws, and permanent
Jewish control of land and property confiscated from the
refugees.
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