REFUGEES, FINAL STATUS ISSUES
UNRWA: Statistics
UNRWA (2014)
Up-to-date numbers of Palestinian refugees supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), including statistics for individual fields of operation. PDF >| For background on UNRWA, see: UNRWA (Reut Institute) >
Someone Like Me
UNRWA (2011)
Documentary providing a glimpse of life inside Burj Barajneh refugee camp, and the experience of being a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon. Watch Part 1 > (7:17) | Part 2 > (7:56) | Part 3 > (9:17)
UNRWA: Where UNRWA Works
UNRWA (2013)
Interactive map of locations in Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and the West Bank where UNRWA provides assistance, protection and advocacy for Palestinian refugees. Includes updated information and background on each refugee camp. Read More >
Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 48
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (June, 2013)
Includes statistics on Palestinian refugee public opinion, as well as Palestinian public opinion on questions related to the refugee issue. Read More >
Compensation to Palestinian Refugees and the Search for Palestinian-Israeli Peace
Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai (Ed.) | Pluto Press (2013)
Book Review (AbeBooks) | CampusBooks
Implementing a Negotiated Settlement on the Palestinian Refugee Question: The International Dimensions
Chatham House (2012)
Outlines possible international contributions (and implications) to implementing a comprehensive solution to the refugee question based on wide consultations and reflection on existing technical preparatory activities. Read More >
Palestinian & Jews from Arab Countries in U.S. Legislation: 101st‐112th Congresses
Americans for Peace Now (2012)
Comprehensive list of US legislation, from 1998 to 2012, pertaining to Palestinian and Jewish Mizrahi refugees, including relevant quotes from individual bills. PDF >
Palestinian Refugees: Different Generations, but One Identity
The Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies (2012)
Diverse and concise booklet on Palestinian refugees' lives, projected futures, and the contemporary methodologies applied to refugee study. Includes chapters on intergenerational differences in refugees' experiences, identity, and psychological and spatial dimensions of refugee life (PDF).
Lifta
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (2011)
"We are Jews. We don't have to save the Palestinian heritage," says Itzik Shweky of the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites. But an American Jew from Brooklyn says the abandoned Palestinian village of Lifta is important for Jews as well as Arabs. (8:41) Watch >
Exile Without End: Palestinians in Lebanon
CBC News (2011)
Portrait of Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, that features an interactive, street-level interface allowing the user to follow personal stories from inside the one-square-kilometre camp. Read More >
Governing Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East
Issam Fares Institute (2010)
Study that seeks to clarify the relationship between power, sovereignty, and space in Palestinian refugee camps. Examines how a camp is managed in terms of its relationship with the legal authorities and local municipalities of the host country, as well as the internal relationships between the groups within the camps (PDF).
Palestinian Refugees: The Regional Perspective
Chatham House (2009)
Report that seeks to describe the Palestinian refugee issue from a broader regional perspective which includes those of the host countries and the refugees living outside of the occupied Palestinian territory. Read More >
1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War
Benny Morris | Yale Pennsylvania Press (2008)
Book Review (The New York Times) | CampusBooks
Israeli Perspectives on the Palestinian Refugee Issue
Orit Gal / Palestine-Israel Journal (2008/2009)
The sense of being overwhelmed, from an Israeli leadership standpoint, over the issue of Palestinian refugees stems from an inability to clearly define Israeli interests, the multiplicity of actors involved, and the high degree of uncertainty concerning consequential outcomes. Read More >
Palestinian Refugees: Challenges of Repatriation and Development
Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai | I. B. Taurus (2007)
Book Review (IDRC) | CampusBooks
Sands of Sorrow
Council for the Relief of Palestine Arab Refugees (1950)
American-made documentary from soon after the 1948 war showing the daily life, routines, and struggles of Palestinian refugees. (28:33) Watch >
Addressing the Palestinian Refugee Problem
Shibley Telhami / The Brookings Institution (May 8, 2007)
In testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Dr. Telhami articulates five central issues for the resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem. Read More >
The June 1967 War and the Palestinian Refugee Problem
Tom Segev / Journal of Palestine Studies (Spring 2007)
Excerpt from Segev's book on the 1967 war that focuses on the debates within Israel regarding the fate of the Palestinian refugees (particularly in Gaza) who came under Israeli control after the six day conflict. The article also explores official Israeli involvement in soliciting and crafting plans to provoke out-migration of Palestinians from Gaza. PDF >
Final Status: Jerusalem and Return
The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy (2007)
Intensive study that delves into Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the issues of Jerusalem and refugees. Includes an examination of pertinent theories and styles of negotiations, thorough background on the issues, and guidelines for agreement between the two sides. PDF >
Addressing the Palestinian Refugee Issue: A Brief Overview
McGill University / Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet (2007)
Provides a descriptive overview of the course of negotiations from 1991 to 2001 as they pertain to refugees. The report also touches upon issues of donor coordination, economic planning in support of an agreement, as well as the contribution of track II research and dialogue projects. PDF >
Demographic Profile of Palestinian Migration
The Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Program (2007)
Presents demographic characteristics of Palestinian migration, including refugees both in and outside of the West Bank and Gaza, by examining the evolution of the Palestinian population since the late 19th century. Also examines the differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics between migration patterns and populations in host countries. PDF >
Landscape of Hope and Despair: Palestinian Refugee Camps
Julie Peteet | University of Pennsylvania Press (2005)
Book Review (The Middle East Quarterly) | CampusBooks
The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited
Benny Morris | Cambridge University Press (2004)
Book Review (The Atlantic) | CampusBooks
Palestinian Refugees and the Politics of Peacemaking
International Crisis Group (2004)
Report that seeks to identify those actors and factors most likely to determine how Palestinian refugees will react to a negotiated agreement of the refugee question. It also assesses the prospects for the implementation of a permanent status agreement. PDF >
Absorbing Returnees in a Viable Palestinian State: A Forward-Looking Macroeconomic Perspective
Arie Arnon and Nu'man Kanafani (2004)
Report that develops a macroeconomic framework to analyze the implications of resettling returning refugees and rehabilitating the Palestinian economy under an assumed overall political settlement. PDF >
Refugees' Preferences and Behavior in a Palestinian-Israeli Permanent Refugee Agreement
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (January - June, 2003)
Poll conducted in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, and Lebanon showing Palestinian public opinion on refugees' socio-economic conditions, peace settlement issues, and expected refugee behavior under a specific peace solution and under various conditions of re-settlement. Read More >
The Refugee Problem at Taba
Akiva Eldar / Palestine-Israel Journal (Spring 2002)
Interview with Yossi Beilin and Nabil Sha'ath, the main Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at the Taba conference of January 2001, about the Palestinian refugee problem and progress achieved on the issue. Read More >
The Palestinian Refugees: Old Problems - New Solutions
Edward J. Perkins and Joseph Ginat | University of Oklahoma Press (2002)
Book Review (The Australian Jewish News) | CampusBooks
Jews from Arab Countries and the Palestinian Right for Return: An Ethnic Community in Realms of National Memory
Yehouda Shenhav / British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (2002)
Examination of the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) and its aspiration to operate in the national arena and counterbalance the claims of the Palestinian leadership regarding the refugee question. Also described is how the Israel attempted to use the Jews from Arab Countries to offset the Palestinian demands for return and compensation. Read More >
Democratizing the Refugee Issue - Survey Results
IPCRI (August 16, 2001)
Opinions and views of Palestinian refugee issues from surveys conducted in refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Read More >
How to solve the Palestinian refugee problem
Akiva Eldar / Ha'aretz (May 29, 2001)
Summary of the positions of Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams, as well as a number of understandings reached, at the Taba Summit in 2001. Read More >
Democratizing the Refugee Issue - Recommendations
IPCRI (April 16, 2001)
Recommendations based on refugees' perspectives towards negotiations and the reality of refugee camps during 48 town-hall meetings in 9 different refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Read More >
"Non-Paper": Israeli Private Response on Palestinian Refugees
January 23, 2001
Response from the Israeli negotiating team at Taba to the PLO's statement on refugees on January 22, 2001. Read More >
Palestinian Statement on Refugees
January 22, 2001
Position on refugees, in regard to a final status agreement, presented by the PLO negotiating team at Taba. Read More >
A Report on the Psychological Effects of Overcrowding in Refugee Camps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Dr. Randa Farah / International Development Research Centre (2000)
Report that provides an overview of the issue of overcrowding in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza, deals with the causes and effects of overcrowding, lists relevant priorities and recommendations, and gives a sense of the problem as expressed by refugees and workers in the camps. Read More >
The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949
Benny Morris | Cambridge University Press (1989)
Book Review (Foreign Affairs) | CampusBooks
They Do Not Exist
Mustafa Abu Ali / UbuWeb (1974)
Documentary offering a look at life inside Palestinian refugee camps, as well as the experiences and perspectives of Palestinian refugees, in the wake of the 1948 war. (25:09) Watch >
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194
December 11, 1948
Passed in the wake of the 1948 war, this resolution established a Conciliation Commission to facilitate peace between Israel and Arab states and includes articles on access to Jerusalem and its Holy Places, UN control of Jerusalem, and a proposed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem. Read More >