With the establishment of Israel in 1948 about how many native Palestinians moved into neighboring Arab countries?

Answer 1

The number of native Palestinians, both Muslims and Christians, who were subjected to ethnic expulsion after the creation of Israel in 1948 is not known exactly but it is in hundreds of thousands. Many towns and villages were abandoned and people fled to neighboring countries. At the same time, roughly the same number of Jews, natives of the neighboring countries, were subjected to ethnic expulsion, abandoned their homes, and fled to Israel.

Now, over 60 years later, the Israeli government includes a number of democratically elected Arab representatives, the refugees were integrated into society, and there are no refugee camps. The neighboring countries include few democratically elected representative government bodies, and the refugees are still in refugee camps.

The Arab League has passed resolutions banning Arab countries from naturalizing Palestinian refugees in their own countries because that will make it near impossible for them to return to their occupied lands in Gaza and West Bank. In a bizarre twist of illogic, much of worldwide public opinion holds Israel responsible for the failure of Arab countries to integrate Arab refugees into their normative societies and economies.

Numerical estimates of the amount of Palestinians who fled in 1947-1949 range from 500,000 to 800,000 with most historians choosing a number in the low 700,000s like 720,000. They primarily fled to Jordan, but a large number also fled to Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. With the partial exception of Jordan, none of these countries has provided citizenship or acceptance for Palestinian refugees.

Numerical estimates of Jews who fled Arab countries from 1947-1952 are between 600,000 and 1,000,000 with most historians choosing a number in the mid 800,000s like 850,000. Of these emigrants, 500,000 settled in Israel and the remaining ones went to France, the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom. All of these former refugees have become citizens in either Israel or the other countries to which they fled.