By Myriam Erquicia Leon
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the longest-running conflicts in the history of the world. The Israeli Jews and the Palestinian Arabs have been disputing a territory that both peoples have considered their own for decades. In 1948, after the proclamation of independence of Israel, thousands of Palestinians fled and were expelled from Palestine by the Israeli troops, who today do not recognise their right of return. Thus, these people became refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. As an attempt to solve the situation, the UN created an ad hoc agency: the UN agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA. Currently, and due to the continuation of the conflict, UNRWA continues to provide services to more than 5 million Palestinian refugees: both those who fled Palestine in 1948, and their descendants.