BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

1.1 Background
Figure 1.1: Estimated Number of Palestinians Displaced, by Period of Displacement
From the Nakba to the Present Day – Ongoing Displacement
Note: There is no single authoritative source for the exact number of Palestinians displaced or expelled from their homes of origin since 1948.
The figures above are based on available data and estimates. For a more detailed analysis of these figures and comprehensive references, see
Appendix 1.1 at the end of this chapter.
Table 1.1: Estimated Area of Palestinian Land Expropriated/Confiscated, by Period of Expropriation/Confiscation
Year Area of Confiscated Palestinian Land (km 2 )
British Mandate: 1922–1947 –
Partition to Armistice (Nakba): 1947–1949 17,178
Military rule in Israel: 1950–1966 700
1967 War 849
Occupation: 1967–2006 3,558
Total 22,285
Note: The total area of historical Palestine (Israel and OPT) is 26,323 km2. There is no single authoritative source for the exact amount
of land expropriated from Palestinians since 1948. The figures above are based on available data and estimates. Between 1925 and 1947
Zionist colonization associations purchased some 714 km 2 of Palestinian land. For a more detailed analysis of these figures and comprehensive
references, see Appendix 1.2 at the end of this chapter.
Palestinian refugees present the largest and longest-standing unresolved refugee case in the world today. At the
beginning of the 20 th century, most Palestinians lived inside the borders of Palestine, which is now divided into Israel,
the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Today, approximately half of the Palestinian people have been displaced
outside their homeland. Another 23% are displaced within the borders of former Palestine.
There have been five major waves of displacement from former Palestine. During the British Mandate, more than
100,000 Palestinians were displaced within and beyond the borders of the country. The recommendation by the UN
General Assembly to partition Palestine into two states in 1947, and the subsequent war led to the mass displacement
of over 750,000 Palestinians from their historic homeland. Palestinians refer to this event as the Nakba or
Catastrophe.
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