The figures below were presented by the UN in 1949, apparently
as part of an assessment of the impact of the war on the Arab population of Palestine. They are based on the population
of villages and towns given in the British Blue Book Vilstat figures of April 1945, and including all the areas
that had become part of Israel in the 1948 Israeli war of Independence. There had been no census in mandate Palestine
since 1931. The Blue Book figures were based on on the 1931 census and cumulative birth, death and immigration records,
which were imperfect. According to the figures, there were about 726,800 non-Jews living in the area that would later
become Israel, in April of 1945. At the end of 1948, the UN registered 726,000 non-Jewish refugees. This estimate
was later revised downward to 711,000 (See Report of the UN Conciliation
Commission on Palestine, 1950 ) Together with
the 156,000 non-Jews remaining in Israel at the end of 1948 according to the Israeli census, this would have produced a
population of 867,000, requiring a population increase of 19.29% in three years. At the time, the average annual
population increase was about 2.7%, making such a population increase very unlikely. Moreover, the Anglo American Survey
of 1946 indicated that Vilstat estimates had probably over-counted the Arab population, and between 1946 and the announcement of partition in November 1947, there was significant emigration of Arabs from
Palestine. Even accepting these figures as correct, assuming no Arab emigration whatever, and allowing for reasonable
population growth of about 2.7% - 3.0% per year, the number of refugees could not have been more than about 660,000 and
may have been lower.
It is important to note that these figures are labeled "As of
1.5.49" and include in Israel the population of Arab villages of the "little triangle." This area was ceded to Israel by
Jordan in the armistice agreement of 1949, which was signed formally on April 3, 1949.
Ami Isseroff
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ABIL EL QAMH
ABISIYA
KHIRBAT SUMMAN
YARDA
AKBARA
ALMA
AMMUQA
ARAB SHAMALINA
BEISAMUN
BIRIYA
BUWEIZIYA
DALLATA
DARBASHIYA
DAWWARA
DEISHUM
DHAHIRIYA TAHTA
EIN EZ ZEITUN
EIN ZEITIM
FARA
FARRADIYA
FIRIM
GHABBATIYA
GHURABA
HARRAWI
HUNIN
HURFEISH
JAHULA
JAUNA
JISH
JUBB YUS UF
KAFR BIRIM
KHALISA
KHIRBAT HIQAB
KHISAS
KHIYAM EL WALID
KIRAD EL BAQQARA
KIRAD EL GHANNAMA
LAZZARA
MALLAHA
MALIKIYA
MANS URA
MANS URAT EL KHEIT
MAR US
MAZARI DARAJA
MEIRUN
MUFTAKHIRA
MUEHR EL KHEIT
NABI YUSHA
NAIMA
QABBAA
QADAS
QADDITA
QEITIYA
QUDEIRIYA
RAS EL AHMAR
RIHANIYA
SABALAN
SAFAD
SAFSAF
SALIHA
SALIHIYA
SAMMUI
SANBARIYA
SASA
SHAUQA TAHTA
SHUNA
TEITABA
TUBA
TULEIL & HUSEINIYA
ULMANIYA
WEIZIYA
YARDA
FLKHARRAR
ZANGHARIYA
ZAWIYA
ZUQ EL FAUQANI
ZUQ ET TAHTANI
NOMADS
DALKAMIYA
EILABUN
GHWEIR ABU SHASHA
NUQEIS
HADATHA
HAMMA
HITTIN
KAFR KAMA
KAFR SABT
KHIRBAT WARA ES
LUBIYA
MADHAR
MACHAR & MANSURA
MAJDAL
MANARA
NASR EL DIN
NIMRIN
SAMAKH
SAMAKIYA
SAMRA
SHAJARA
TABIGHA
TIBERIAS
UBEIDIYA
ULAM
YAQUQ
ARIDA
ASHRAFIYA
BASHATIWA
BAWATI
BEISAN
BIRA EL
DANNA
FARWAWA
FATUR EL
GHAZAWIYA
HAMIDIYA
HAMRA
JABBUL
JISR ELMAJAMI
KAFRA
KAFR MISR
KAURAB EL HAWA
KHUNEIZIR
MASIL EL JIZL
MURASSAS
QUMIYA
SAFA
SAKHINA
SAMIRIYA
SIRIN
TAIYIBA
TEL ESH SHAUK
TIRA
UMM AJRA
WADI EL BIRA
YUBLA
ZABA
ABU SHUSHA
ABU ZUREIQ
ARARA
ARAB EL FUQARA
ARAB EL GHAWARINA
ARAB EN NUFEIAT
ATLIT
BALAD ESH SHIKH
BEIT LAMM
BINYAMINA
BUREIKA
BUTEIMAT
DALIYAT EL KARMIL
DALIYAT ER RUHA
DUMEIRA
EIN GHAZAL
EIN HAUD
JIDRU GHAWARINA
FUREIDIS
GHUBAIYAT
HADERA
HAIFA
IBILLIN
IJZIM
ISFIYA
JABA
KABARA
KAFRIM
KAFR LAM
KAFR QARI
KHIRBAT DAMUN
KHIRBAT LID
KHUBBEIZA
KHUREIBA
EL MANSI
EL MAZAR
NESHER
DARDES HANNA
QANNIR
QISARIYA
RIHANIYA
SABBARIN
SARAFAND
SHAFA AMR (URBAN)
SHAFA AMR (RURAL)
SINDIYANA
TANTURA
TIRA
QUS-QUS TABUN
UMM ESH SHAUF
UMM EZ ZINNAT
WADI ARA
WALDHEIM
YAJUR
QIRA WA QAMUN
NURIS
SANDALA
MAZAR
EIN EL MANSI
UMM EL FAHM
ZIRIN
ZALAFA
570
270
270
90
5,430
1,420
340
60
570
270
270
90
5,490
1,420
340
TOTAL
8,390
60
8,450
NON - JEWISH POPULATION TULKARM SUB-DISTRICT
VILLAGE
MOSLEMS
CHRISTIANS
OTHERS
TOTAL
BAQA EL GHARBIYA
FARDISIYA
GHABAT KAFRSUR
JALJULIYA
JATT
KAFR BARA
KAFR QASIM
KAFR SABA
KHIRBAT BEIT LID
NAZLAT ISA
QALANSWWA
QAQUN
RAML ZEITA
TALYIBA
TIRA
UMM KHALID
WADI HAWARITH NORTH
WADI HAWARETH SOUTH
WADI QABBANI
ABU KISHK
BEIR DAJAN
BIYAR ADAS
FAJJA
HARAM EL
JAFFA
JALIL QUBLIYA
JALIL SHAMALIYA
JAMMASIN EL GHARBI
JAMMASIN ESH SHARQI
JARISHA
KAFR ANA
KHERIYA
MASUDIYA
EL MIRA
EL MUWEILIH
PETAH TIQVA
RANTIYA
SAFIRIYA
SALAMA
SAQIYA
SARONA
SAWALIMA
SHEIKH MUWANNIS
TEL AVIV
WILHELMA
YAHUDIYA
YAZUR
NOMADS