The Palestinian exodus from Kuwait took place during and after the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. There were approximately 357,000

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

living in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

before the country was invaded by neighbouring

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

on 2 August 1990. On August 10, twenty

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

countries at an emergency summit in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

drafted a final statement that condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and supported the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

resolutions. Twelve

Arab states The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

supported the use of force, and the remaining eight, including the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

(PLO), rejected a military solution to the Iraqi invasion. According to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', classified US reports indicated that the PLO leader,

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

, pressed Iraqi President

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

to make his withdrawal from Kuwait conditional on the withdrawal of Israel from the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

and the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, and on August 12, Saddam announced his offer to withdraw conditionally. The Kuwaiti government policy which led to this exodus was a response to the position taken by the PLO. After

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

saw Iraqi forces defeated and pushed out of Kuwait by a coalition led by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, more than 287,000 Palestinians were forced to leave Kuwait in March 1991 by the government and fear of abuse by the Kuwait Armed Forces. Most of the fleeing Palestinians went to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and limited numbers ended up in Iraq,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 2004, relations between the Palestinian leadership and Kuwait improved with the issuance of an official apology by the PLO leader,

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

, for the PLO's support of the Iraqi occupation. In 2012, the Palestinian embassy in Kuwait was reopened, and some 80,000 Palestinians lived in the state.

Background

Before the

, the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

population in

was 357,000, roughly 18 percent of Kuwait's total population, which was approximately 2 million people.'' Journal of Palestine Studies''
Palestinians in Kuwait
(1991) by Ann M. Lesch. The Palestinian nationals had come to Kuwait in three different phases: 1948 (the First Arab–Israeli War and the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

), 1967 (the Third Arab–Israeli War), and 1973 (the Fourth Arab–Israeli War).

Events

Iraqi occupation

During the subsequent Iraqi

military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...

of Kuwait, some Palestinians fled for various reasons such as fear of persecution, food and medical care shortages, financial difficulties, and fear of arrest or mistreatment at roadblocks by the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

March 1991 exodus

Kuwait's campaign against the Palestinians was a response to the alignment of the Palestinian leader,

, and his

with Iraqi President

, who had earlier invaded Kuwait. On March 14, 1991, 200,000 Palestinians still resided in Kuwait out of the initial 400,000. Palestinians were forced to leave Kuwait during one week in March 1991 after Kuwait's was liberated from the Iraqi occupation. During a single week in March, the Palestinian population of Kuwait had been almost entirely deported out the country, 18 % of Kuwait population was deported. Kuwaitis said that Palestinians leaving the country could move to Jordan, since most Palestinians held Jordanian passports. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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 would be able to stay.

Aftermath

Some of the Palestinians who were expelled from Kuwait were Jordanian citizens. In 2004, Kuwait put off a planned visit by

, the second PLO official after Arafat. Palestinian officials initially denied reports that it had been caused by the PLO's refusal to apologize over its support of the 1990

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country for the next seven months ...

. However, on 12 December 2004, Abbas, who had now become the PLO leader, apologized for the Palestinian leadership's support of

and of Saddam during the invasion and the occupation.Abbas apology to Kuwait over Iraq
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

News, December 12, 2004 On the first visit to Kuwait by a top Palestinian official since the 1990 invasion, Abbas stated, "I say, yes, we apologize to the Kuwait people over our stand toward Kuwait". In 2012, it was reported that 80,000 Palestinians lived in Kuwait.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palestinian exodus from Kuwait (1990-91) Kuwait–Palestine relations Aftermath of the Gulf War 1991 in Kuwait History of the Palestinian refugees

Forced migration in Asia Palestinian diaspora in the Middle East 1991 in international relations

Background

Events

Iraqi occupation

March 1991 exodus

Aftermath

See also

Notes