Palestinian diaspora

[1] However, the first large emigration wave of Arab Christians out of Palestine began in the mid-19th century; factors driving the emigration included economic opportunities, avoiding forced military service, and localized conflicts such as the 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus.

[2][3][4] The 1922 census of Palestine's returns for Palestinians living abroad listed 4,054 Muslims, 6,264 Jews, 10,107 Christians, and 181 Druze.

[13] In the largest such camp in Lebanon, Ain al-Hilweh, neighborhoods are named for the Galilee towns and villages from which the original refugees came, such as Az-Zeeb, Safsaf and Hittin.

[13] Even though 97% of the camp's inhabitants have never seen the towns and villages their parents and grandparents left behind, most insist that the right of return is an inalienable right and one that they will never renounce.

[16] In the United States, this includes a Palestinian community of 800-1000 in Gallup, New Mexico, highly involved in the area's Southwest jewelry industry.