Internally displaced Palestinians
Encyclopedia
A present absentee is a Palestinian who fled or was expelled
from his home in Palestine
by Jewish
or Israel
i forces, before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
, but who remained within the area that became the state of Israel. Present absentees are also referred to as internally displaced Palestinians (IDPs). The term applies to the present absentee's descendants too. In 1950 these were 46,000 of the 156,000 Palestinians in Israel.
Present absentees are not permitted to live in the homes they were expelled from, even if they live in the same area, the property still exists, and they can show that they own it. They are regarded as absent by the Israeli government because they left their homes, even if they did not intend to leave them for more than a few days, and even if they did so involuntarily.
- or 1 in 4 Palestinians in Israel - are internally displaced Palestinians.
The vast majority are Muslim (90%) and some 10% are Christian. There are no Druze
among them "since no Druze village was destroyed in the 1948 war and no Druze left their settlements permanently."
Organizations defending the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel
also generally include the 110,000 Bedouin
forced to move in a closed area under military rule in the Negev
in 1949 in their estimates of internally displaced Palestinians. Other internally displaced persons included in these counts are those who were displaced by ongoing home demolitions
enacted against unlicensed structures or in unrecognized villages
. Estimates based on this broader definition place the total population of IDPs at anywhere between 250,000 - 420,000 people.
In recent years, Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories who have been displaced by the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier
have also been referred to as internally displaced Palestinians. They are estimated to number between 24,500 and 57,000 people.
As it was for most other Palestinian refugees, the homes and properties of internally displaced Palestinians were placed under the control of a government body, the Custodian of Absentees' Property
via legislation that includes the 1948 Emergency Regulation Concerning Absentee Property (a temporary measure) and the 1950 Absentee Property Law.
Unlike other Palestinian refugees, the internally displaced Palestinians and others who remained inside what became Israel
were made citizens by the Citizenship Law
of July 1952. That same year Israel requested that UNRWA transfer responsibility for registering and caring for internally displaced persons to Israel and basic humanitarian assistance was provided to the internally displaced for a time.
Military administrative rule (1948–1966) restricted the movement of Arab citizens of Israel
, and it combined with the absentee property legislation to prevent internally displaced citizens from physically returning to their properties to reclaim their homes. Under the legislation, "absentee" property owners were required to prove their "presence" in order to gain recognition of their ownership rights by the Israeli government.
Refugee rights groups report that Palestinians inside Israel tried to return to their villages of origin, often by sending letters to Israeli ministries. Letters were generally written by village mukhtars and dignitaries, and would emphasize the good relationship between the residents of the village with their Jewish neighbors, and the desire to live in peace under
Israeli rule. The Israeli response to these letters was negative.
Villagers like those of Ghassibiya, Bir'im
and Iqrit
whose petitions to the Israeli High Court
to have their property rights recognized were accepted in the 1950s were physically prevented from reclaiming their properties by military administrative authorities who refused to abide by the court rulings and declared the villages closed military zones.
Because most internally displaced Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel were counted as absent, even though present inside the Israeli state, they are also commonly referred to as present absentees.
and the Galilee
, while the remaining internally displaced Palestinians live in some 80 towns and villages in the Galilee
such as Ein Hawd
. There is also the village of Ein Rafa
near Jerusalem.
Half of the populations in the two largest Arab towns in Israel, Nazareth
and Umm al-Fahm
, are made up of internally displaced refugees from neighbouring towns and villages destroyed in 1948.
In 1991, Israeli writer and peace activist David Grossman
conducted several interviews with Palestinian citizens of Israel. These were published in a book called in Hebrew נוכחים נפקדים /Nokhehim Nifkadim ( Absent Presentees). The English version was titled Sleeping on a Wire: Conversations with Palestinians in Israel.
As Nur Masalha puts it in his introduction: "Acquiring the paradoxical title of present absentees, the internally displaced had their property and homes taken by the state, making them refugees and exiles within their own homeland." The book uses oral history and interviews with internal refugees to examine Palestinian identity and memory, indigenous rights, international protection, the "right of return," and a just solution in Palestine/Israel.
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
from his home in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
by Jewish
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
or Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces, before and during 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...
, but who remained within the area that became the state of Israel. Present absentees are also referred to as internally displaced Palestinians (IDPs). The term applies to the present absentee's descendants too. In 1950 these were 46,000 of the 156,000 Palestinians in Israel.
Present absentees are not permitted to live in the homes they were expelled from, even if they live in the same area, the property still exists, and they can show that they own it. They are regarded as absent by the Israeli government because they left their homes, even if they did not intend to leave them for more than a few days, and even if they did so involuntarily.
Definition
If the definition is restricted to those displaced in the 1948 war and its immediate aftermath and their descendants, some 274,000 Arab citizens of IsraelArab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
- or 1 in 4 Palestinians in Israel - are internally displaced Palestinians.
The vast majority are Muslim (90%) and some 10% are Christian. There are no Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
among them "since no Druze village was destroyed in the 1948 war and no Druze left their settlements permanently."
Organizations defending the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
also generally include the 110,000 Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
forced to move in a closed area under military rule in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
in 1949 in their estimates of internally displaced Palestinians. Other internally displaced persons included in these counts are those who were displaced by ongoing home demolitions
House demolition in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
House demolition is a controversial tactic used by the Israeli Defence Forces and Israeli settlers in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip against Palestinians....
enacted against unlicensed structures or in unrecognized villages
Unrecognized villages
The term Unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel refers to Arab villages in the Negev and the Galilee which the Israeli government does not recognize as legal settlements. Approximately half of Bedouin citizens of Israel live in 39-45 such villages...
. Estimates based on this broader definition place the total population of IDPs at anywhere between 250,000 - 420,000 people.
In recent years, Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories who have been displaced by the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
have also been referred to as internally displaced Palestinians. They are estimated to number between 24,500 and 57,000 people.
Present absentees
In 1950, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimated that 46,000 of the 156,000 Palestinians. who remained inside the borders demarcated as Israel by the 1949 armistice agreement were internally displaced refugees.As it was for most other Palestinian refugees, the homes and properties of internally displaced Palestinians were placed under the control of a government body, the Custodian of Absentees' Property
Land and Property Laws in Israel
Land and property laws in Israel provide a legal framework which governs land and property issues in Israel. At its establishment, Israel continued to apply the pre-existing Ottoman and British land law...
via legislation that includes the 1948 Emergency Regulation Concerning Absentee Property (a temporary measure) and the 1950 Absentee Property Law.
Unlike other Palestinian refugees, the internally displaced Palestinians and others who remained inside what became Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
were made citizens by the Citizenship Law
Israeli nationality law
Israel's nationality law defines the terms through which one can be granted citizenship of the state of Israel. It also includes the Right of return for Jewish diaspora...
of July 1952. That same year Israel requested that UNRWA transfer responsibility for registering and caring for internally displaced persons to Israel and basic humanitarian assistance was provided to the internally displaced for a time.
Military administrative rule (1948–1966) restricted the movement of Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
, and it combined with the absentee property legislation to prevent internally displaced citizens from physically returning to their properties to reclaim their homes. Under the legislation, "absentee" property owners were required to prove their "presence" in order to gain recognition of their ownership rights by the Israeli government.
Refugee rights groups report that Palestinians inside Israel tried to return to their villages of origin, often by sending letters to Israeli ministries. Letters were generally written by village mukhtars and dignitaries, and would emphasize the good relationship between the residents of the village with their Jewish neighbors, and the desire to live in peace under
Israeli rule. The Israeli response to these letters was negative.
Villagers like those of Ghassibiya, Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im
Kafr Bir'im, also Kefr Berem , was an Arab Christian village in Palestine located south of the Lebanese border and northwest of Safed. The village was situated above sea level, with a church overlooking it at an elevation of . The church was built on the ruins of an older church destroyed in an...
and Iqrit
Iqrit
Iqrit was a Palestinian Christian village, located 25 kilometers northeast of Acre. Originally allotted to form part of an Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan, it was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war...
whose petitions to the Israeli High Court
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
to have their property rights recognized were accepted in the 1950s were physically prevented from reclaiming their properties by military administrative authorities who refused to abide by the court rulings and declared the villages closed military zones.
Because most internally displaced Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel were counted as absent, even though present inside the Israeli state, they are also commonly referred to as present absentees.
Present-day
Today the internally displaced Bedouins live in 49 "unrecognized villages" in the NegevNegev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
and the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, while the remaining internally displaced Palestinians live in some 80 towns and villages in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
such as Ein Hawd
Ein Hawd
-External links:*, Archnet Digital Library....
. There is also the village of Ein Rafa
Ein Rafa
Ein Rafa is an Israeli Arab village ten kilometers west of Jerusalem, Israel. Located across Route 1 from Abu Ghosh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 865.-History:...
near Jerusalem.
Half of the populations in the two largest Arab towns in Israel, Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
and Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm is a city in the Haifa District of Israel with a population of 43,300, nearly all of whom are Arab citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm mountain ridge, the highest point of which is Mt. Iskander , overlooking Wadi Ara...
, are made up of internally displaced refugees from neighbouring towns and villages destroyed in 1948.
Research on the Internal Refugees
A few books focus on Palestinian internal refugees in Israel and internally displaced Palestinians across the Green Line.In 1991, Israeli writer and peace activist David Grossman
David Grossman
David Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
conducted several interviews with Palestinian citizens of Israel. These were published in a book called in Hebrew נוכחים נפקדים /Nokhehim Nifkadim ( Absent Presentees). The English version was titled Sleeping on a Wire: Conversations with Palestinians in Israel.
As Nur Masalha puts it in his introduction: "Acquiring the paradoxical title of present absentees, the internally displaced had their property and homes taken by the state, making them refugees and exiles within their own homeland." The book uses oral history and interviews with internal refugees to examine Palestinian identity and memory, indigenous rights, international protection, the "right of return," and a just solution in Palestine/Israel.
See also
- Land and Property laws in IsraelLand and Property Laws in IsraelLand and property laws in Israel provide a legal framework which governs land and property issues in Israel. At its establishment, Israel continued to apply the pre-existing Ottoman and British land law...
- Ein HodEin HodEin Hod is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located south of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa in northern Israel, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2008 it had a population of 559....
- Ghassibiya
- Bir'imKafr Bir'imKafr Bir'im, also Kefr Berem , was an Arab Christian village in Palestine located south of the Lebanese border and northwest of Safed. The village was situated above sea level, with a church overlooking it at an elevation of . The church was built on the ruins of an older church destroyed in an...
- IqritIqritIqrit was a Palestinian Christian village, located 25 kilometers northeast of Acre. Originally allotted to form part of an Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan, it was captured and depopulated by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war...
- LajjunLajjunLajjun was a Palestinian Arab village of nearly 1,300 people located northwest of Jenin. The village along with nearby Umm al-Fahm and seven hamlets, had a total land area of 77,242 dunams or , of which were built-up, while the rest was used for agricultural purposes...
- Ein RafaEin RafaEin Rafa is an Israeli Arab village ten kilometers west of Jerusalem, Israel. Located across Route 1 from Abu Ghosh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 865.-History:...
- List of Arab villages in Israel populated with Internally Displaced Palestinians
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War