Palestinian exodus from Kuwait

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At the end of the Gulf War Kuwait expelled some 400,000 Palestinians because the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had aligned the PLO with Saddam Hussein, Kuwait's enemy. The exodus took place during one week in March 1991, after Kuwait was liberated from Iraqi occupation.

The exodus has caused great strain on the Palestinian economy, since many Palestinians working in Kuwait have been an important source of income to the Palestinian economy.

Prior to the exodus, Palestinians made up about 30% of Kuwait's population. By 2006 only a few have returned to Kuwait and today the number of Palestinians living in Kuwait is less than 40,000 (under 3% of the population).

On December 12, 2004, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas apologized for the Palestinians' support of Saddam Hussein during the invasion of Kuwait.[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Abbas apology to Kuwait over Iraq, BBC News, December 12, 2004