The problem of more than 800.000 Arabs who fled Palestine is a principal sore spot. Two hundred thousand now live in conditions close to destitution in Egypts Gaza strip within sight of their former homes. Over 450.000 are in Jordan. the only Arab country which has offered the refugees citizenship but whose economy is so poor that it has proved difficult to absorb the newcomers. Syria and Lebanon also have sizable numbers of Palestine refugees. Israel has offered the refugees compensation for their land but has refused to accept the return of the embittered and hostile Arabs who. it is argued. would be a security risk to the new nation. The Arabs are insisting on repatriation as a first step toward permanent peace with Israel. A second troublesome problem has grown out of the haphazard delineation of boundary lines under the armistice agreements.
Identified stereotypes
The refugees are described as 'embittered and hostile' and a 'security risk'.