How many Palestinian Arabs left their homes, how many are still listed as refugees now?
• Estimates of the number of Arabs who fled the newly-created State of Israel in 1948 (i.e. from the area inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders) vary from 430,000 to 957,000, depending on who you ask. The most reliable figure appears to be 539,000. In the 1967 Six Day War, between 125,000 (Israeli estimate) and 250,000 (UNRWA estimate) Arabs fled from Judea, Samaria and Gaza, which came under Israeli administration. Of these, say some researchers, close on two-thirds were first-time refugees, the others were refugees from 1948 who fled once again. According to the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), in 1996 the number of refugees stood at 3.3 million, located as follows: Jordan: In 10 camps – 242,922. Not in camps – 1.1 million Judea and Samaria: In 20 camps – 147,302. Not in camps – 385,136 Gaza: In five camps – 378,279. Not in camps – 338,651 Lebanon: In 12 camps – 182,731. Not in camps – 169,937 Syria: In 10 camps – 89,472. Not in camps – 257, 919 TOTAL: In 57 camps – 1.04 millio
