Ethnic cleansing, displacement of Palestinians and settler colonization

Nakba in Palestine describes a process of ethnic cleansing in which an unarmed nation was destroyed and its population displaced systematically by another nation. The Nakba resulted in the displacement of 800 thousand out of the 1.4 million Palestinians who lived in historical Palestine in 1948 in 1,300 villages and towns.


Several official estimates on the number of Palestinian refugees on the eve of the 1948 war were released from various sources.  However, the United Nations released two estimates: the first referred to the number of Palestinian refugees that amounted to about 726 thousand refugees as based on the estimates of the United Nations in 1949.  And the second that amounted to 957 thousand refugees as based on estimates of 1950.

5.9 Million Registered Refugees in UNRWA
UNRWA Records indicated that the number of registered Palestinian refugees in 2017 amounted up to about 5.9 million and these figures represented the minimum number of Palestinian refugees. Palestinian refugees in the West Bank who are registered with UNRWA as in 2017 accounted up to 17.0% of the total refugees registered with UNRWA against 24.4% in Gaza Strip. At the level of the Arab countries, the percentage of Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Jordan, amounted up to 39.0% of the total Palestinian refugees while the percentage of Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon and Syria reached  9.1%  and 10.5% respectively.


The Situation of  Palestinian Refugees in the State of Palestine
43% of the total Population in State of Palestine are Refugees
Data indicated that the percentage of the population of refugees in State of Palestine in 2017 reached 42.5% of the total Palestinian population reside in State of Palestine, and data indicated that 26.6% of the population in the West Bank are refugees, while the percentage of refugees in Gaza Strip is 66.2%.


Palestinian Refugees are Characterized as a Youngsters Community
The percentage of persons aged less than 15 years in State of Palestine reached 39.9%  (as of 39.3% for refugees and 38.6% for non-refugees) in 2017, while the percentage of elderly aged 60 years and above among refugees reached 4.9% of the total refugees while for non-refugees reached 5.0%.

Palestinian Refugee Women living in State of Palestine have the highest Fertility
The mean number of children ever born for women ever married in State of Palestine 2017 is 4.4  births, 4.5 for refugees women compared with 4.3 for non-refugees women

 

Disability/Difficulty among refugees is more prevalence
Based on the data of Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017. 6.8% of Palestinian refugees suffer from disability/difficulty compared with 5.1% among non-refugees. On the types of disabilities/difficulties between refugees and non-refugees, it was found that individuals who suffer from disability/difficulty of seeing was higher among refugees compared to non-refugees at 3.1% and 2.3% respectively, while the proportion of people with disabilities/ difficulties in movement among refugees was 3.5% compared to 2.5% among non-refugees.

About 39% of the Refugees were Poor in 2017
The poverty percentage among the refugees was 38.5% during 2017 according to monthly consumption patterns. This  means that the monthly consumption of their households was below the poverty line which was 2,470 NIS for Palestinian household of  5 (2 adults and 3 children) while percentage among the non-refugees was 22.3%. The percentage of refugees who suffered from deep poverty was (23.0%). This means that their monthly households consumption was below the deep poverty line which was  1,974 NIS for Palestinian household of 5 (2 adults and 3 children) while percentage among the non-refugees was 12.2%. The poverty percentage among refugees was higher than the general average. The percentage of poor individuals in Palestine was 29.2%. The percentage of  individuals who suffered from deep poverty was 16.8% in 2017.

Participation Rate in Labor Force is Low for Both Refugees and Non-Refugees
The results of the Labor Force Survey in 2017 showed that the participation rate in labor force among refugees aged 15 years and above who reside in State of Palestine were 45.2% against 45.3% for non-refugees.

Unemployment Rate is high Among Refugees
Data indicated that there is a clear difference on the level of unemployment rate among the individuals participating in the labor force (15 years and above)  between refugees and non-refugees, as unemployment rate among refugees reached up to 34.7% compared to 22.8% among non-refugees.

One-third of the Refugees work as Specialists and Technicians
In 2017, the profession of "technicians, specialists, assistants, and clerks" was considered as the most accommodating profession among refugees in State of Palestine as refugees amounted to 32.8% while the non-refugees reached 22.4%. Also, legislators and senior management staff represented the lowest percentage for both of refugees and non-refugees with a variation by 2.9% for refugees and 4.3% for non-refugees.


The results indicated that the percentage of employed persons in the West Bank among the individuals participating in the labor force (15 years and above) for the year 2017 reached 57.6% with a clear difference according to the refugee status. The percentage of  (employed refugees was 40.3%, while for non-refugees was 67.9%), while the percentage of employed persons in Gaza Strip 29.4%  (about 52.3% for refugees compared to 15.8% for non-refugees). The percentage of employed in Israel and the settlements was 13.0% (7.4% for refugees compared with 16.3% for non-refugees).

An Increase in Percentages of Educational Attainment among Refugees
The percentage of illiteracy among Palestinian refugees in 2017 for individuals aged 15 years and above reached 3.0%, while among non-refugees reached 3.6%. The percentage of Palestinian refugees aged 15 years and above who obtained a bachelor's degree or higher reached 18.1 % of the total refugees aged 15 years and above against 16.6% for non-refugees.

The Situation of Palestinian Refugees in Diaspora
Palestinian Refugees in Jordan
The socio-economic conditions of the Jordan's Palestinian refugee camps study 2011, which was prepared by FAFO showed that 39.9% of the individuals in the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan aged under 15 years old, while the percentage of the elderly (65 years and above) was 4.3%, and the average of household size was        5.1 individuals.  The data also indicated that the percentage of illiteracy rate among the individuals in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan aged 15 and above was 8.6%.

Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
The results of the Palestinian Refugees in the Palestinian Refugee Camps and Localities Census  in Lebanon 2017 showed that the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are concentrated in Sidon with (35.8%), followed by North (25.1%), Tyre (14.7%), Beirut & its suburbs (13.4%), Al Chouf (7.1%) and Bekaa (4%).  The results also indicated that about (4.9%) of  the Palestinian refugees have another nationality.

The Average Household Size was 4 individuals, and the percentage of female-headed households was 17%, while the total fertility rate of Palestinian women was 2.6 births.

The results indicate that about 7.2% of the Palestinian refugees 10 years and above are illiterate (unable to read and write). The percentage of enrollment in education for individuals from         (3-13 years) was 93.6%.  While the percentage of those holding a university degree and higher was 10.5%.

The results showed that the unemployment rate among Palestinian refugees 15 years and above in Lebanon was 18.4% of the individuals participating in the labor force. The rate of unemployment among young (15-19 years) reached 44%, while the unemployment rate was 29% for the individuals (20-29 years).