Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Refugees, Migration and Displacement



By Mare the Muse and Perplexity

The history of refugees in the Israeli-Palestinian region includes numerous instances of both Jews and Palestinians arriving as exiles or migrants, as well as being expelled from the region. The interplay of migrations and displacements has shaped the demographic, cultural, and political landscape of the region for millennia.

  • : The Babylonian conquest of Judah led to the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of much of the Jewish population to Babylon. Many returned after the Persian conquest in 539 BCE under Cyrus the Great.

  • : After suppressing Jewish revolts, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and expelled large portions of the Jewish population, initiating the Jewish Diaspora.

  • : Jews intermittently returned to Palestine during periods of relative stability. For example, following expulsions from Spain (1492) and Portugal (1498), some Sephardic Jews migrated to Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

  • While there is limited documentation of "Palestinians" as a distinct group in ancient times, local populations were often displaced during invasions by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, and others.

Jewish migration to Palestine intensified in modern times due to persecution in Europe and Zionist aspirations.

  1. :

    • Jewish migrants fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe began arriving during the First Aliyah (1882–1903), with approximately 35,000 Jews settling in Ottoman Palestine23.

    • These immigrants established agricultural communities like Petah Tikva and Rishon LeZion.

  2. :

    • : Around 40,000 Jews arrived, many fleeing anti-Semitism in Russia. They established kibbutzim and revived Hebrew as a spoken language23.

    • : Another 40,000 Jews arrived after World War I under British rule3.

    • : Over 250,000 Jews fled Nazi persecution in Europe57. Many were blocked by British immigration quotas but entered illegally through Aliyah Bet operations.

  3. :

    • After World War II, Holocaust survivors sought refuge in Palestine. Between 1939 and 1948, an estimated 110,000 Jews entered illegally despite British restrictions3.

  1. :

    • During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from areas that became Israel. Known as the "Nakba" (catastrophe), this marked the beginning of a protracted refugee crisis46.

    • Many Palestinians settled in refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

  2. :

    • An additional 280,000–325,000 Palestinians were displaced when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and other territories4.

  • During periods of foreign rule (e.g., Crusader invasions or Mamluk control), Jewish communities faced persecution or expulsion. For instance:

    • In 1291, Muslims expelled remaining Crusaders along with some Jewish communities.

    • Under Ottoman rule (1516–1917), Jewish communities flourished intermittently but faced restrictions depending on political conditions.

  • In the late Ottoman period (19th century), economic opportunities attracted Arab migrants from surrounding regions to Palestine. Some Palestinian families trace their roots to this period.

  1. :

    • Today there are over 6 million registered Palestinian refugees. Many live in camps across Jordan (2 million), Gaza (1.4 million), Lebanon (500,000), Syria (500,000), and the West Bank46.

    • Their right of return remains a central issue in peace negotiations.

  2. :

    • Between 1948 and the early 1970s, around 856,000 Jews fled or were expelled from Arab countries due to rising tensions after Israel's creation.

    • Approximately 600,000 settled in Israel4.

The region's history reflects cycles of migration and displacement for both Jews and Palestinians—sometimes as exiles seeking refuge and at other times as populations forced out by conflict or conquest. These historical patterns continue to influence the region’s demographics and fuel its ongoing conflicts.

Citations:

  1. https://www.cjpme.org/fs_181
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliyah
  3. https://aub.edu.lb.libguides.com/c.php?g=342715&p=2477016
  4. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-202927/
  5. https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/jews_MIG.pdf
  6. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-206581/
  7. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/27/palestine-and-israel-brief-history-maps-and-charts
  8. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1ahb9eh/during_the_period_roughly_19001948_at_what_point/

 

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