Palestinian refugees suffered an injustice in 1948. However, the much greater injustice is that the international community and the Arab world have refused to resettle them for over seven decades.
The UN and international organizations have perpetuated the Palestinian refugee problem.
Palestinians are the only population in the world that the UN refuses to resettle. Instead, it passes their refugee status on to children and grandchildren. As a result, the original Palestinian refugee population of a few hundred thousand has grown to more than 6 million today.
The Arab World has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee problem.
Among all Arab countries, only Jordan has offered Palestinians the right to citizenship. Many others have passed discriminatory laws, preventing Palestinians from buying land and entering certain professions, like law and medicine
In 1959 the Arab League adopted Resolution 1457, which stated: "The Arab countries will not grant citizenship to applicants of Palestinian origin in order to prevent their assimilation into the host countries."
Throughout the years, many Arab countries—including Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan—have expelled tens of thousands of Palestinian residents. Few in the Arab world or the international community have spoken out against this. Kuwait expelled nearly 200,000 Palestinians from its country following the Gulf Warin 1991 and Jordan expelled Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria in 2014.
During Israel's 2023 war with Hamas, which started after Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and massacred more than 1,200 men, women, and children, no Arab nation would take in Gazan refugees. Egypt also refused to open its border with Gaza—even to ease the humanitarian crisis—for "security reasons."
"Palestinian leaders would rather see their people continue living in devastating povertyas refugees than improve their living conditions and search for new opportunities in Western countries. They want millions of Palestinians to remain stuck in refugee camps so that the Palestinian leadership can continue milking the world for money." (Gatestone Institute)
Much of the Palestinian suffering in the region is a result of failed Palestinian leadership.
Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The area was taken over by the Hamas terrorist organization in 2007, which brutally oppresses women, political opponents, Christians, and other minorities.
There would be a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, 97 percent of the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip if Palestinian leaders had accepted the peace offers presented to them by Israel.
Much of the international aid earmarked for the Palestinian people has been siphoned off by corrupt leaders in the Palestinian Authority.Rampant corruption is destroying the future of the Palestinian people.
Foreign funding without proper oversight and requirements is to blame for the suppression of freedom and democracyin the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) issued a report in February 2014 criticizing the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for assaults on human rights and freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Hamas is largely to blamefor any humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hamas steals aidand prohibits any criticism from Gazan residents.
Watch this video of Tawfik Hamid, a former Islamist who ascribes blame to failed Palestinian leadership for the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The Palestinians' standard of living improved significantly under Israeli control from 1967 up until the Oslo Peace Process in the early 90s.
Mortality rates in the West Bank and Gaza fell by more than two-thirds between 1970 and 1990, and life expectancy rose from 48 years in 1967 to 72 years in 2000.
Israeli medical programs reduced the infant mortality rate of 60 per 1,000 live births in 1968 to 15 per 1,000 in 2000. Under Israel's systematic program of inoculation, childhood diseases like polio, whooping cough, tetanus, and measles were eradicated.
By 1986, 92.8 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza had electricity around the clock, compared with 20.5 percent in 1967; 85 percent had running water in dwellings, as compared to 16 percent in 1967.
In 1967 not a single university existed in Gaza or the West Bank. By the early 1990's, there were seven institutions of higher learning, boasting some 16,500 students.
Additional Resources
Israel's War with Hamas FAQ(downloadable PDF)
The Double Standards of the 2023–24 Gaza War (article)
The History of Hamas (video)
Palestinians: A Story You Have Not Heard(article)
Hamas Charter
Warfare against Israel damages their own economy
