The plight of Palestinian refugees is the longest, unresolved refugee problem in the world

A refugee is a person forced to leave their place of residence as a result of armed conflict or natural disaster. In the Palestinian context, the term refers to anyone who was forced by Zionists to leave their home. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to neighbouring Arab states in 1948 and again in 1967, when Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine. Today, they and their descendants number over seven million, one-third of whom still live in UN-administered refugee camps. Refugees’ rights are enshrined in various articles of international law, and the right of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return home is one of the key Palestinian demands in the peace process. UN Resolution 194 of December 11, 1948, states: “Refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so.”