1 Palestinian refugees are persons who were: (1) displaced from the territory of British Mandate Palestine subsequently designated as Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively to neighboring countries (Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria), as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – with small numbers also fleeing to Egypt and Iraq - in connection with the creation of the state of Israel (i.e., the 1947-49 Arab-Israeli war); they are commonly referred to as “Palestine refugees” or “1948 refugees:” despite them holding British Mandate citizenship since 1925 and Ottoman nationality before that, they were prevented from returning to their homes and were denationalized en masse by Israel. (2) displaced from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip when Israel occupied those territories in 1967 (commonly referred to as ‘1967 displaced persons’). All of them, together with their descendants, are refugees, according to international law, until their overall situation is definitely settled in line with UN resolutions. See UNHCR Guidelines on International Protection No. 13: Applicability of Article 1D of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees to Palestinian Refugees, December 2017, HCR/GIP/16/12, para. 9. For a comprehensive discussion see Francesca Albanese & Lex Takkenberg, Palestinian Refugees in International Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020). 2 UNRWA population statistics are limited to 1948 refugees eligible for Agency services; education/health/relief and social service figures are limited to the sub-group of registered refugees who use Agency services. Survey data from other sources are limited in various ways, e.g., focus on camp refugees. 3 Jordan hosts over two million Palestinian refugees, of which approximately 370,000 live in one of the 10 official refugee camps. See “Where We Work - Jordan,” UNRWA, https://www.unrwa. org/where-we-work/Jordan, accessed May 22, 2020. 4 Until 1988, West Bank Palestinians had enjoyed Jordanian citizenship. This changed in response to PLO’s demarche for statehood in the occupied Palestinian territory. See King Hussein of Jordan’s Address to the Nation, 31 July 1988. Palestinians from the West Bank, including refugees, were no longer considered Jordanian citizens, but can apply for a temporary passport which serves as a travel document. Jamjoum, H., ‘Palestinian refugees in Jordan and the revocation of citizenship: Interview with Anis F. Kassim’, Al Majdal: Forced Secondary Displacement: Palestinian Refugees in the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Jordan, and Libya 45 (2010). 5 Since 2011, Jordan has received close to 17,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS), although the exact number remains unknown, most of them living in abject poverty, with compromised legal rights and status. 6 Lebanon hosts over 470,000 Palestinian refugees, of which approximately 225,000 live in one of the 12 official refugee camps. The protracted economic crisis and recent political unrest in Lebanon have negatively affected the already dire living conditions of Palestinian refugees. See “Where We Work - Lebanon,” [UNRWA, https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/Lebanon, accessed May 22, 2020. 7 Over the past decade, Lebanon became host to approximately 30,000 PRS, who are especially vulnerable. 8 The West Bank hosts over 800,000 Palestinian refugees, out of which approximately 194,000 live in one of the 19 official refugee camps. Gaza hosts a total of 1,386,455 Palestinian refugees, out of which approximately 600,000 live in one of the eight recognized refugee camps. Under siege since 2007, Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip have been isolated well before the current pandemic. The situation for Palestinian refugees in Gaza is extremely dire, and the Gaza Strip is often referred to as an “open-air prison.” See “Where We Work – West Bank,” UNRWA, https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/west-bank, accessed May 22, 2020; and “Where We Work – Gaza,” UNRWA, https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/Gaza-strip, accessed May 22, 2020. 12