Palestinian exodus from Kuwait (1990–91)
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The Palestinian exodus from Kuwait took place during and after the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
. There were 400,000 Palestinians living in
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
before the state was invaded by neighbouring
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
in August 1990. During the subsequent Iraqi
military occupation Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...
of the country, some 200,000 Palestinians left due to various reasons such as fear of persecution, food and medical care shortages, financial difficulties, and fear of arrest or mistreatment at roadblocks by Iraqi troops. After Operation Desert Storm, which saw Iraqi forces defeated and pushed out of Kuwait by a
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
-led coalition, another 200,000 Palestinians fled Kuwait, partly due to economic burdens, regulations on residence and fear of abuse by Kuwaiti security forces. The policy which partly led to this exodus was a response to the alignment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in favour of the Iraqi invasion as well as PLO leader
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
's support for
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
, the then
President of Iraq The president of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Con ...
. The Palestinians who fled Kuwait were mostly Jordanian citizens. By 2004, the political situation between the Palestinian leadership and Kuwait improved with the issuance of an official apology by Mahmoud Abbas for the PLO's support of the Iraqi occupation. In 2012, the official Palestinian embassy in Kuwait was re-opened, and some 80,000 Palestinians were living in the state.


Background

Before the Gulf War, Palestinians comprised 400,000 of Kuwait's total population, which was approximately 2 million people at the time.Journal of Palestine Studies
Palestinians in Kuwait
(1991) by Anne M Lesch.
Palestinian nationals arrived in
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
in three different phases: 1948 ( First Arab–Israeli War and
Nakba Clickable map of Mandatory Palestine with the depopulated locations during the 1947–1949 Palestine war. The Nakba ( ar, النكبة, translit=an-Nakbah, lit=the "disaster", "catastrophe", or "cataclysm"), also known as the Palestinian Ca ...
), 1967 ( Third Arab–Israeli War) and 1973 ( Fourth Arab–Israeli War).


Events


During Iraqi occupation

The massive exodus of Palestinians from Kuwait began with the Iraqi invasion into the country in summer 1990. The exodus included both Kuwaitis and Palestinians, who were forming a large percentage of Kuwaiti residents. Out of initial 350,000 people of Palestinian descent who resided in Kuwait in mid-1990, more than 200,000 fled Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, due to harassment and intimidation by
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
i security forces, in addition to getting fired from work by Iraqi authority figures in Kuwait. The Iraqi education ministry in Kuwait fired 3,000 Palestinians in September 1990, and the dismissals of Palestinians from other sectors continued throughout October. The Iraqis also put pressure on the PLO office in Kuwait, which had refused to organize any Palestinian demonstrations and rallies in support of Iraq.


March 1991 exodus

Kuwait's lack of support for Palestinians after the Gulf War was a response to the alignment of Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
and the PLO with
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
, who had earlier invaded Kuwait. On March 14, 1991, 200,000 Palestinians were still residing in Kuwait, out of initial 400,000. Palestinians were forced to leave Kuwait during one week in March 1991, following Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation. During a single week in March, the Palestinian population of Kuwait had almost entirely got deported out the country. Kuwaitis said that Palestinians leaving the country could move to Jordan, since most Palestinians held Jordanian passports. According to the New York Times, Kuwaitis said the anger against Palestinians was such that there was little chance that those who had left during the seven-month occupation could ever return and relatively few of those remaining will be able to stay.


Aftermath

The Palestinians who were expelled from Kuwait were generally Jordanian citizens. They were formally recognized as Jordanians of Palestinian origin. In 2004, Kuwait allegedly put off a planned visit by Mahmoud Abbas, then the number-two PLO official after leader
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
. Palestinian officials initially denied reports that this was due to the PLO's refusal to apologize over its support of the 1990
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
. However, on 12 December 2004, Abbas, now the leader of the PLO, apologized for the Palestinian leadership's support of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
during the invasion and occupation.Abbas apology to Kuwait over Iraq
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
News, December 12, 2004 On the first visit to Kuwait by a top Palestinian official since the 1990 invasion, Abbas stated: "I say we yes, we apologize over our stand towards Kuwait." In 2012, there were 80,000 Palestinians living in Kuwait.


See also

*
1948 Palestinian exodus In 1948 more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs – about half of prewar Palestine's Arab population – were expelled or fled from their homes, during the 1948 Palestine war. The exodus was a central component of the fracturing, dispossessi ...
*
1991 uprisings in Iraq The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings in Iraq led by Shi'ites and Kurds against Saddam Hussein. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoord ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palestinian exodus from Kuwait (1990-91) Foreign relations of Kuwait Gulf War 1991 in Kuwait History of the Palestinian refugees
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
Forced migration Palestinian diaspora in the Arab world History of Kuwait