According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the number of registered Palestinian refugees in 2019 was more than **5.6 million**¹². This includes the original refugees who fled the Zionist Militias or were expelled from their homes in 1948 during the Nakba, as well as their patrilineal descendants¹. However, this number does not include the internally displaced Palestinians, who became Israeli citizens, or displaced Palestinian Jews¹. Some estimates suggest that there are an additional 1-1.4 million people who descend from displaced people of Mandatory Palestine but are not registered under UNRWA or UNHCR mandates¹.
Palestinian refugees are the world's oldest and largest protracted refugee population, living in various countries and territories in the Middle East, such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip¹²³. They face many challenges and hardships, such as poverty, discrimination, violence, occupation, and blockade²⁴. They also aspire to a just and lasting solution to their plight, based on their right to self-determination and independence². The UN position is clear: the occupation must end, and a two-State solution must be achieved in line with international law².
Source: Conversation with Bing, 1/5/2024
(1) Palestinian refugees - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_refugees.
(2) UN marks 75 years since displacement of 700,000 Palestinians. https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136662.
(3) Palestine refugees | UNRWA. https://www.unrwa.org/palestine-refugees.
(4) Why Are Palestinians Still Living as Refugees 6 Decades Later?. https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/157284.