Following the 1948 war, apart from a small number who have returned under family reunification arrangements, most refugees have been unable to exercise their right of return. The state of Israel has consistently rejected the Palestinian right of return, except for a conditional offer to accept 100,000 refugees in the early 1950's which was later withdrawn. In the 1967 war, some 350,000 Palestinians became refugees , many for the second time. They are scattered in 59 refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and individually throughout the world. Two of the primary demands by refugees are return and compensation as provided for under UN Resolution 194 of 1948.
Palestinian refugees are the largest group of refugees worldwide.
For more than fifty years, Israel and members of the international community have sought, unsuccessfully, to find a political solution for Palestinian refugees, rather than a solution based on international refugee law and practice, including the principle of refugee choice, and UN resolutions - i.e. return and compensation. 652.855 Jordan 2.328.308 1.741.796 Lebanon 430.183 408.008 Syria 465. In 1948, some 900,000 Palestinians were displaced and dispossessed of their homes and lands in the course of the Zionist campaign to establish a state in Palestine. More than three-quarters of the 531 depopulated Palestinian towns and villages were completely destroyed. Some 155,000 rural Israeli Jews currently live on this land.