Estimates of the Palestinian Refugee flight of 1948
Encyclopedia
This article lists the various interim and final United Nations
estimates for the number of Palestinian people
who fled or were expelled from the area that became part of the State of Israel after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
. It also provides other interim and final estimates for the number of Palestinian refugees for that period.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
estimates for the number of Palestinian people
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
who fled or were expelled from the area that became part of the State of Israel after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. It also provides other interim and final estimates for the number of Palestinian refugees for that period.
Final estimates
- 726,000 according to the Final Report of the United Nations Economic Survey Mission for the Middle East published by the United Nations Conciliation CommissionUnited Nations Conciliation CommissionThe United Nations Conciliation Commission was created by UN General Assembly Resolution 194, in order to conclude the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.On December 11, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the proposal to set up the committee with delegates of three nations. France, Turkey and the United...
, December 28, 1949. http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C2A078FC4065D30285256DF30068D278 (A/AC.25/6/Part.1 p. 21) - 711,000 according to the General Progress Report and Supplementary Report of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, Covering the Period from 11 December 1949 to 23 October 1950, published by the United Nations Conciliation CommissionUnited Nations Conciliation CommissionThe United Nations Conciliation Commission was created by UN General Assembly Resolution 194, in order to conclude the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.On December 11, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the proposal to set up the committee with delegates of three nations. France, Turkey and the United...
, October 23, 1950. (U.N. General Assembly Official Records, 5th Session, Supplement No. 18, Document A/1367/Rev. 1) http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/93037e3b939746de8525610200567883
Interim estimates
- Emil Ghoury (Telegraph Beirut, September 1948) : 200,000 in June 1948, 300,000 in July 1948.
- 360,000 in September, 1948, according to the Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on PalestineProgress Report of the United Nations Mediator on PalestineThe Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine is a UN official record submitted by the United Nations Mediator on Palestine to the Third Session of the General Assembly...
published by UN Mediator Count Folke BernadotteFolke BernadotteFolke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II, including 450 Danish Jews from Theresienstadt released on 14 April 1945...
, September 16, 1948. (U.N. General Assembly Official Records, 3rd Session, Supplement No. 11, Document A/648) - 472,000 in October, 1948, according to the Progress Report of the Acting United Nations Mediator on Palestine published by Acting UN Mediator Ralph BuncheRalph BuncheRalph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...
, October 18, 1948. (UN General Assembly Official Records, 3rd Session Supplement No. 11A, Document A/689)
Estimates of total number of people who registered as refugees
- 800,000 - 900,000 according to the Historical Survey of Efforts of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine to Secure the Implementation of Paragraph 11 of General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) published by the United Nations Conciliation CommissionUnited Nations Conciliation CommissionThe United Nations Conciliation Commission was created by UN General Assembly Resolution 194, in order to conclude the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.On December 11, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the proposal to set up the committee with delegates of three nations. France, Turkey and the United...
, October 2, 1961. http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3e61557f8de6781a052565910073e819?OpenDocument (A/AC.25/W.81/Rev.2) - 875,998 refugees in June 1951, according to the Report of the Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East published by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, September 28, 1951. (U.N. General Assembly Official Records, 6th Session, Supplement No. 16, Document A/1905) http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/181c4bf00c44e5fd85256cef0073c426/8d26108af518ce7e052565a6006e8948!OpenDocument
- 914,000 refugees in 1950, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency website. http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/whois.html
- 957,000 refugees in 1950 according to the Report of the Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East published by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, September 28, 1951. (U.N. General Assembly Official Records, 6th Session, Supplement No. 16, Document A/1905) http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/8d26108af518ce7e052565a6006e8948!OpenDocument
Final
- 400,000 "Israeli government estimate" according to Elia Zureik http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/new_prrn/research/papers/zureik.htm
- 420,000- According to Joseph E. Katz on www.eretzyisroel.org. http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~samuel/refugees.html
- 520,000 "Israeli estimates" according to www.mideastweb.org. http://www.mideastweb.org/refugees1.htm
- 539,000 According to Dr. Walter Pinner, Dr.Econ, Halle-Wittenberg University, in his book How many Arab refugees: a critical study of UNRWA's Statistics and Reports Page 61 "The number of genuine refugees in 1948 was 539,000."
- 600,000 According to Joseph B. Schechtman The Arab Refugee Problem 1952 Philosophical Library. Page 16 "The number who fled could not have exceeded 600,000."
- 600,000 "Private Israeli sources" according to www.mideastweb.org. http://www.mideastweb.org/refugees1.htm
- 600,000 - 700,000 According to Nicole Brackman on www.aijac.org.au http://www.aijac.org.au/updates/Jan-01/150101.html
- 620,000 According to www.mideastweb.org http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm
- 630,000 According to Yoram Ettinger on www.acpr.org.il http://www.acpr.org.il/cloakrm/clk99.html
- 630,000 According to Yuval Arnon-Ohana on www.Bnetanyahu.com http://www.netanyahu.org/19palrefwhos.html
- 650,000- According to Mitchell Bard on www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/refugees.html
- 700,000 "It is impossible to arrive at a definite persuasive estimate. My predeliction would be to opt for the loose contemporary British formula, that of 'between 600,000 and 760,000' refugees; but, if pressed, 700,000 is probably a fair estimate" - Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p603-4.
- 720,000 According to www.jafi.org citing "Irving Howe and Carl Gershman (eds.), Israel, the Arabs and the Middle East (New York: Bantam, 1972), p. 168." http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/refuge.html
- 750,000 According to www.palestinecenter.org. http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/pubs/19990714ib.html (1999)
- 750,000 - 800,000 "Private Palestinian sources" according to Elia Zureik http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/new_prrn/research/papers/zureik.htm
- 800,000- According to Amira Howeidy on Al-AhramAl-AhramAl-Ahram , founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya . It is majority owned by the Egyptian government....
Weekly online. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/690/profile.htm - 800,000 According to Elia Zureik. http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/MEPP/PRRN/papers/zureik2.html
- 800,000 According to www.mideastjournal.com. http://www.mideastjournal.com/rightofreturn.html http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/ref-qumsiyeh.html
- 800,000 - Walter EytanWalter EytanWalter Eytan , born 1910, Munich. Died ?. Israeli diplomat. Settled in Palestine in 1946. Director General of Foreign Ministry 1948-1959. Ambassador to France 1959-1970....
, head of Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a private letter of 1950 (quoted by Morris, Birth...Revisited, p602) - 800,000 - 900,000 "Palestinian figures" according to Elia Zureik http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/new_prrn/research/papers/zureik.htm
- 804,767 According to Salman Abu-SittaSalman Abu-SittaSalman H. Abu Sitta is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian right of return.-Biography:Abu-Sitta was born in Beersheba Salman H. Abu Sitta (Arabic سلمان ابو ستة)(born 1938) is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the...
on www.palestineremembered.com http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Right-Of-Return/Story433.html - 850,000 "United Nations estimate" according to Elia Zureik http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/new_prrn/research/papers/zureik.htm
- 900,000+ According to www.humanrightshouse.org. http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=2028
- 900,000 According to Abdel-Azim Hammad on Al-Ahram Weekly. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1999/438/op2.htm (1999)
- 935,000 According to Salman Abu-SittaSalman Abu-SittaSalman H. Abu Sitta is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian right of return.-Biography:Abu-Sitta was born in Beersheba Salman H. Abu Sitta (Arabic سلمان ابو ستة)(born 1938) is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the...
(From Refugees to Citizen at Home: Al Naqba Anatomy http://www.plands.org/books/citizen/Al_Nakba_Anatomy.htm).
Interim
- 200,000+ by May, 1948 according to Joseph E. Katz on www.eretzyisroel.org. http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~samuel/refugees.html
- 250,000 by May, 1948 according to www.mideastweb.org http://www.mideastweb.org/refugees1.htm
- 300,000 by May, 1948 according to Noam Chomsky pp. 131-132 Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky http://www.representativepress.org/Sources.html
- 380,000 by 15 May 1948 according to Dr. Ilan Pappe of Haifa University, "The Making of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1947-51", London: I.B. Tauris, 1992. pp. 85, 96
- 500,000 by June, 1948 according to Salman Abu-SittaSalman Abu-SittaSalman H. Abu Sitta is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian right of return.-Biography:Abu-Sitta was born in Beersheba Salman H. Abu Sitta (Arabic سلمان ابو ستة)(born 1938) is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the...
(From Refugees to Citizen at Home: Al Naqba Anatomy http://www.plands.org/books/citizen/Al_Nakba_Anatomy.htm). - 630,000 by July, 1948 according to Salman Abu-SittaSalman Abu-SittaSalman H. Abu Sitta is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian right of return.-Biography:Abu-Sitta was born in Beersheba Salman H. Abu Sitta (Arabic سلمان ابو ستة)(born 1938) is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the...
(From Refugees to Citizen at Home: Al Naqba Anatomy http://www.plands.org/books/citizen/Al_Nakba_Anatomy.htm). - 700,000 by October, 1948 according to Salman Abu-SittaSalman Abu-SittaSalman H. Abu Sitta is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian right of return.-Biography:Abu-Sitta was born in Beersheba Salman H. Abu Sitta (Arabic سلمان ابو ستة)(born 1938) is a Palestinian researcher and writes about Palestinian refugees and the...
(From Refugees to Citizen at Home: Al Naqba Anatomy http://www.plands.org/books/citizen/Al_Nakba_Anatomy.htm).
See also
- Palestinian exodus
- Palestinian refugeePalestinian refugeePalestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...