Arab and Palestinian leaders were primarily responsible for the Palestinian refugee crisis.
They caused the refugees’ short-term displacement:
They rejected the 1947 UN Partition Plan and waged a war on the Jewish state instead, serving as the source of the Nakba.
They encouraged Palestinians to get out of the way of advancing Arab armies and join the fighting, promising they would return after a victory that never came.
This advice was given by leaders such as Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam (also known as Azzam Pasha), the Secretary-General of the Arab League at the time.: "[...] This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades."
There are Arab leaders that often speak like this, and we've seen in October 7th that there's no end to jihadist barbarism. If Jews could potentially be killed in an attack, any Palestinian dead as a consequence is a saint (or "Shahid").
Arab propaganda also manufactured or exaggerated tales of Israeli atrocities, causing widespread panic and more evacuation.
They also caused the refugees’ long-term crisis:
Arab states refused to absorb the refugees or give them citizenship and equal rights (except for Jordan)
By doing so, they broke their ethical obligation to the refugees they created
They use Palestinians as pawns in their continuing war against Israel.
There is no justification for a "Right of Return" for the Palestinians
The Arab leaders, like Azzam Pasha, pushed Palestinians to evacuate, but didn't provide them with a place to go since they hoped to win the war
When they lost the war, their false promises were not fulfilled and Palestinian suffering was inevitable.
Palestinians who adhered to the calls of Israel's enemies betrayed Israel and forfeited their rightful claim to the land.
Israeli-Arabs who have equal rights in Israel in 2023 have earned them through their actions in 1948 that strived for unity and peace instead of annihilation and destruction.
The Israeli Response