27 January 1992
THE MIDDLE EAST REFUGEES
Origins of the Middle East Refugee Problem
The Middle East refugee problem was created as a result of Arab and
Palestinian rejection of the 1947 UN partition plan and their decision
to declare war on the nascent Jewish state. On the day Israel declared
its independence (May 15, 1948), five Arab armies invaded its territory.
This war resulted in the movement of more than 590,000 Jewish refugees
from Arab lands to Israel, and of a similar number of Palestinian Arabs
from Israel to Arab-controlled Gaza and the 'West Bank', Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon, where the majority became residents of refugee camps.
While the numbers of Jewish and Arab refugees are similar, the two
groups of refugees encountered very different treatment: Israel
integrated the uprooted Jews into its society as full-fledged citizens.
On the other hand, the Arab states have made no effort to solve the
problem of the Palestinian Arab refugees. Instead, their goal is to
maintain their dismal conditions in order to use them as a political
weapon in their struggle against Israel.
Palestinian Arab Refugees
During the war, the Arab states called on the Palestinian Arabs to
temporarily leave the country and to "return with the victorious Arab
armies."
Some 590,000 followed this directive and left the area; about 150,000
remained and subsequently became citizens of Israel. Following the 1967
Six-Day War, when Israel acted in self defense against Arab aggression,
the number of Palestinian Arab refugees increased, with estimates
varying from 125,000 (Israel) to 250,000 (UNRWA).
According to the 1991 UNRWA report, there are approximately 874,000
Palestinian camp residents throughout the Middle East, mainly in
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Judea-Samaria and Gaza. However, UNRWA notes
that its statistics "are based on figures of registration with the
Agency and do not necessarily reflect the true population figures,
mainly because of unreported deaths or duplicate registration" (Report
of General Commissioner for 1982-83). In this context, Israel reports
about 275,000 residents of Palestinian refugee camps in Judea-Samaria
and Gaza, while UNRWA lists some 354,000. Furthermore, according to
UNRWA figures, only about 35 percent of registered refugees live in
refugee camps, some of which are built on the outskirts of urban areas
and are actually part of them.
Jewish Refugees
From 1948, approximately 800,000 Jews from Arab lands also became
refugees, some 590,000 of whom came to Israel. These refugees either
escaped from persecution or were expelled from the countries where they
had lived for generations, leaving behind property estimated to be worth
billions of dollars. Little has been heard about these Jewish refugees
because they did not remain refugees for long. Israel, with the
financial assistance of world Jewry, set up a comprehensive
infrastructure to rehabilitate them, along with thousands of survivors
of the Nazi regime in Europe during World War II. Thus the refugees of
yesterday rapidly became productive members of Israel's society.
Palestinian Arab Refugees under Israeli Administration
In Judea-Samaria and Gaza, Israel has taken special measures to improve
the living conditions in the refugee camps:
- All camps have been linked up to the nearest municipality, which
provides the refugees with the same services as it gives its own
residents
- Where necessary, an infrastructure of roads, electricity grids and the
like has been established to provide refugee camps with the potential of
becoming towns;
- New housing units have been built, and aid and loans have been given
to refugees to make improvements to existing dwellings;
All refugees benefit from expanded health and education services.
Students from the camps are permitted to pursue their studies abroad, at
universities in the Arab world and elsewhere.
Resolution 242 and the Refugee Problem
Security Council Resolution 242 (November 22, 1967), recognized the
refugee problem as one element of the Arab- Israeli conflict, stating
that it "affirms further the necessity ... for achieving a just
settlement of the refugee problem." The reference to refugees in that
resolution was, and still is, to both Arab and Jewish refugees.
World Population Exchanges
Refugee movements and exchanges of populations are a common phenomena in
world history. Since World War II over 100 million people have become
refugees. Virtually all have found new homes and have been integrated
into the host societies. In the Middle East, too, a virtual population
exchange was effected between Jews from Arab lands and Palestinian Arabs
from Israel.
In recognition of the urgent need to address the plight of the
Palestinian Arab refugees, Israel, has called for "an international
endeavor to resolve the problem of the residents of the Arab refugee
camps (in Judea-Samaria and Gaza) ... in order to improve their living
conditions and to rehabilitate them. Israel Is prepared to be a partner
in this endeavor" (From the Peace Initiative of the Israeli Government,
May 14, 1991).