Executive Summary
The survey has five chapters. Chapter 1 of the Survey discusses the ongoing Nakba and
sets the historic scene for the state of affairs in which Palestinians find themselves today.
Supplementing the historic overview, which encompasses the period from the occupation by
the British in 1917 to today, Chapter 1 explores a number of current political developments
highlighting the ongoing failure of the international community and the environment in
which Israel’s colonial-apartheid policies are allowed to function. The current political climate
in which Palestinian refugees and IDPs find themselves has been heavily determined by
the crimes committed by Israel, with increased colonial expansion and house demolitions,
continued assaults against Gaza, the criminalization of Palestinian CSOs, and aggressive
repression of Palestinians throughout all of Mandatory Palestine. Israel’s impunity continues
to be protected by the United States of America under the Biden Administration along with
the rest of the international community, particularly the EU with regards to its conditional
funding requirements placed on the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian CSOs and UNRWA.
Chapter 2 of the survey contains, to the greatest possible extent, the population size,
distribution and demographic characteristics of the Palestinian refugee and IDP population.
By the end of 2021, it is estimated that 9.17 million of the 14 million Palestinians worldwide
(65.5 percent) are forcibly displaced persons. Among them are approximately 8.36 million
Palestinian refugees and 812,000 IDPs. The overall Palestinian displaced population includes
7 million 1948 Palestinian refugees and their descendants (a figure that includes the 5.8 million
Palestinian refugees who are registered with and eligible for UNRWA assistance), 1.33 million
1967 refugees and their descendants, 439,171 Palestinians internally displaced in 1948 Palestine
and 372,793 Palestinians internally displaced in the oPt since 1967 and their descendants, and
an unknown number of Palestinians who are neither 1948 nor 1967 refugees. Approximately
38.3 percent of the Palestinian displaced population registered with UNRWA are registered
in Jordan, 26.2 percent are registered in the Gaza Strip, 16.9 percent are registered in the West
Bank, 10.2 percent are registered in Syria, and 8.5 percent are registered in Lebanon. The data
from Chapter 2 further reveals that the Palestinian refugee population is young, has a high,
albeit declining, fertility rate, and has a high, albeit declining, growth rate. Furthermore, labor
force participation is low for Palestinians in the oPt as well as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
due to legal restrictions on employment as well as precarious political circumstances, and
Palestinian refugees generally suffer from high rates of poverty and food insecurity.
Chapter 3 proffers the overall legal international protection framework and as it pertains
specifically to those displaced, in addition to its application, or lack thereof, to Palestinian
refugees and IDPs. The chapter defines international protection and highlights the role of
UNHCR and human rights instruments in refugee protection, as well as consideration of IDP
protection frameworks. It identifies the separate international protection system consisting of
the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) and UNRWA, which was
designed specifically to ensure Palestinian refugees’ enjoyment of their rights with effective
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