The Palestinians FLED their homes to get away from a war the ARABs started.
Some fled because of the war and the massacre of that village the Irgun did. Most didn't and were ejected.
I have made the claim, supported by numerous contemporary accounts, that the land was essentially unused.
Yeah, there were parts that way. But it was far from all. If it could be tilled, there were people tilling it. There were plenty of contemporary accounts of that fact. Where there was tillable land, there were people tilling it.
According to the Ottoman Empire 1850 census. Jerusalem was not predominately Jewish. Tiberias was predominately Jewish at the time. There were 400. You have been reading too much Israeli propaganda.
Pre-Industrial Revolution societies couldn't support very high densities. As time went on, the numbers in that area increased.
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| | According to Alexander Scholch, Palestine in 1850 had about 350,000 inhabitants, 30% of whom lived in 13 towns; roughly 85% were Muslims, 11% were Christians and 4% Jews [24] |
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Qazas Number of
Towns and
Villages Number of Households |
Muslims Christians Jews Total | 1 | Jerusalem |
| Jerusalem | 1 | 1,025 | 738 | 630 | 2,393 |
| Countryside | 116 | 6,118 | 1,202 | - | 7,320 | | 2 | Hebron |
| Hebron | 1 | 2,800 | - | 200 | 3,000 |
| Countryside | 52 | 2,820 | - | - | 2,820 | | 3 | Gaza |
| Gaza | 1 | 2,690 | 65 | - | 2,755 |
| Countryside | 55 | 6,417 | - | - | 6,417 | | 3 | Jaffa |
| Jaffa | 3 | 865 | 266 | - | 1,131 |
| Ludd | . | 700 | 207 | - | 907 |
| Ramla | . | 675 | 250 | - | 925 |
| Countryside | 61 | 3,439 | - | - | 3,439 | | 4 | Nablus |
| Nablus | 1 | 1,356 | 108 | 14 | 1,478 |
| Countryside | 176 | 13,022 | 202 | - | 13,224 | | 5 | Jinin |
| Jinin | 1 | 656 | 16 | - | 672 |
| Countryside | 39 | 2,120 | 17 | - | 2,137 | | 6 | Ajlun |
| Countryside | 97 | 1,599 | 137 | - | 1,736 | | 7 | Salt |
| Salt | 1 | 500 | 250 | - | 750 |
| Countryside | 12 | 685 | - | - | 685 | | 8 | Akka |
| Gaza | 1 | 547 | 210 | 6 | 763 |
| Countryside | 34 | 1,768 | 1,021 | - | 2,789 | | 9 | Haifa |
| Haifa | 1 | 224 | 228 | 8 | 460 |
| Countryside | 41 | 2,011 | 161 | - | 2,171 | | 10 | Nazareth |
| Nazareth | 1 | 275 | 1,073 | - | 1,348 |
| Countryside | 38 | 1,606 | 544 | - | 2,150 | | 11 | Tiberias |
| Tiberias | 1 | 159 | 66 | 400 | 625 |
| Countryside | 7 | 507 | - | - | 507 | | 12 | Safad |
| Safad | 1 | 1,295 | 3 | 1,197 | 2,495 |
| Countryside | 38 | 1,117 | 616 | - | 1,733 | | Figures from Ben-Arieh, in Scholch 1985, p. 388. |
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