Is there any way to prove who actually caused the Palestinian refugees crisis ?
The main bulk of Palestinian refugees were created through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine at the hands of Zionist militias between 1947-1948 and the subsequent establishment of the state of Israel. This campaign of ethnic cleansing took place before and during the war of 1948, and saw approximately 800,000 Palestinians expelled from their homes, and over 530 villages being demolished. Another large wave of displacement and expulsions happened during the 1967 war. Israel depends upon the displacement of these refugees and their descendants to maintain itself as an ethnocracy.
The Palestinians did not “leave” their villages as much as they were forced out of them through various means. According to Salman Abu Sitta, and based on a wide array of sources, the majority of Palestinian villages (54%) were abandoned due to military assaults by Zionist militias. The second largest reason was direct expulsion by Zionist forces (24%). Atrocities committed in other fallen villages inspired mass panic that resulted in the abandonment of (10%) of the villages. Fear of Zionist attack resulted in a further (7%) of the villages being abandoned, while (2%) were abandoned due to psychological terror campaigns, dubbed “whispering” campaigns.
It should be stressed, however, that the technicalities or the reasons of why the refugees left are irrelevant, as they have a right to return to their homes regardless.
Ethnic cleansing and destruction of ‘Imwas, June 17, 1967. Note the Israeli officer to the left directing Palestinians out of their village
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