Palestinians comprise the largest refugee population in the world nearing a total of 6 million people. Considering that Israel has a current population of 9.34 million inhabitants, that number of refugees seems exorbitant. How would it be possible that the number of refugees expelled from Israel makes up 64% of their current population?
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A refugee must fall into a specific category as defined by the United Nations (UN), however, Palestinians have a definition to classify a refugee that differs from the rest. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, a refugee is a person "who has fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and has crossed an international border to find safety in another country." This status is attributed to a person who was forced to leave their country of residence to find shelter and safety across national borders. The status may only be claimed by those who have personally been forced to flee. As of 2021, there were a total of 21.3 million refugees globally according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
A Palestinian refugee is given different conditions according to UNRWA. The definition begins with a typical classification, "persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict." In addition to this, any descendants of male refugees can also be classified as a refugee. Refugee status is passed through paternal lineage, if a person's father was a refugee, they are considered one as well even if that person has never stepped foot in the land of Israel. This unique classification, which is not present in any other definition of a refugee, has led to the significant number of Palestinian refugees.
The UNRWA definition of a Palestinian refugee has been the topic of much controversy within the Middle East. This definition is not recognized by Israel as they do not consider it to be an accurate classification. At present, Israel has been condemned significantly more times by the UN than any other country. Although Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East, they have been the target of more condemnations than Russia, which is currently in a decade-long war with Ukraine, North Korea, a dictatorship, and many other countries with poor human rights. Since its creation, the UN has targeted Israel and continues to do so by creating a distinct regiment for Palestinian refugees.
Due to the generational component of the refugee status, the right to return would provide Palestinians with a large enough population to become the majority in Israel. It would seem that creating the state of Palestine is the ultimate goal of the UN through its numerous condemnations and legislations. UNRWA provides additional aid to Palestinian refugees notably in terms of education, healthcare and social services. In place of finding a permanent solution to the problem, the UN perpetuates the issue by providing benefits to the refugee status. There is no foundation behind the distinct ability of the Palestinian refugee status to be inherited. It is for that reason that a disproportionate number of Palestinian refugees exist and will continue to increase over time.
A change in definition would be beneficial to maintain a standard definition of a refugee and provide services to those who have been personally displaced. It seems the main motivation in allowing such a large number of individuals to claim Palestinian refugee status is to denigrate Israel and its public image. This double standard is arbitrary and should no longer continue to exist.
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