The day that a million Palestinians lost their citizenship

July 31 was a very big anniversary for Palestinian Arab history. Yet amongst all the anniversaries that Palestinians mark, I didn't see anyone talking about July 31 this year.

On July 31, 1988, Jordan's King Hussein announced that - at the PLO's request - he was cutting all administrative and legal ties with Arabs who lived on the West Bank of the Jordan river.

With the stroke of a pen, over a million Palestinians changed from being Jordanian citizens to becoming citizens of nothing.

King Hussein, for his part, said that he was doing this for the Palestinians' own good, saying "our goal is the benefit of the Palestinian cause and the Arab Palestinian people."

Rich and well-connected Palestinians managed to hold on to their citizenship, of course. Mahmoud Abbas is a Jordanian citizen as well as other top PA and Fatah officials.

There were about a million Arabs living in the West Bank in 1988.

July 31 is the anniversary of a million Palestinians suffering from a real disaster. But since it was done by Arab leaders, and supposedly for their own good, no one talks about it.

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