The birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947-1949

The paperback edition of a book first published in hardback in 1987 (ISBN 0 521 33028 9), and not abstracted at that time. It traces the stages of the 1947-9 exodus against the backdrop of the first Arab-Israeli war and analyses the varied causes of the flight. The Jewish and Arab decision-making involved, on national and local levels, military and political, is described and explained, as is the crystallisation of Israel's decision to bar a refugee repatriation. The subsequent fate of the abandoned Arab villages, lands and urban neighbourhoods - destruction or resettlement by Jewish immigrants - is examined. Also looks at the international context of the struggle to resettle or repatriate the refugees. Maps show Arab population centres and a key gives reasons for and dates of their abandonment. -M.Amos