the U.S. government approved a resolution to differentiate between Palestinians "personally displaced" in 1948 and their millions of descendants.
The count will be conducted by the State Department and will only include refugees who receive United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) services. Known as the "Kirk amendment" after the drafter, Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL). The bill reads:
United Nations Relief and Works Agency.- Not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations detailing the number of people currently receiving United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) services 1) whose place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who were personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict ('such persons'); 2) who are children of such persons; 3) who are grandchildren of such persons; 4) who are descendants of such persons and not otherwise counted by criteria (2) and (3); 5) who are residents of the West Bank or Gaza; 6) who do not reside in the West Bank or Gaza and are citizens of other countries; and 7) whose place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who were personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, who currently do not reside in the West Bank or Gaza and who are not currently citizens of any other state.
Mondoweiss.net (Also on Alternet)
Also see Palestinian-Israeli Conflict For Beginners or The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known as the Nakba on Wikipedia