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It may well be that the Palestinian refugee problem is the world's most enduring such problem. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the Palestinian refugee problem to understand is why the Palestinians did not integrate into the area of Palestine in which the Arabs retained after the 1949 Ceasfire or the Arab societies where they sought refuge. Many images highlighting the difficult living conditions Palestinans faced were taken in Gaza refugee camps. A myth about the Paestinian refugees, however, is that “Israel forced the Palestinian refugees to stay in primitive Gaza camps". The Arab refugees were left in camps and in some cases confined in those camps by the Arab Governments involved. The Palestinian Arabs were never integrated, unlike the similar number of Jewish refugees from the Arab world, who were fully integrated into Israeli society. The Front Line Arab states as well as other Arab countries have pursued very different policies.
It may well be that the Palestinian refugee problem is the world's most enduring such problem. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the Palestinian refugee problem to understand is why the Palestinians did not integrate into the area of Palestine in which the Arabs retained after the 1949 Ceasfire or the Arab societies where they sought refuge. Here the assessment is complicated because of the different countries involved. The Palestinian refugees were left in camps and in some cases confined in those camps by the Arab Governments involved. The Palestinian Arabs were never integrated, unlike the similar number of Jewish refugees from the Arab world, who were fully integrated into Israeli society. Here policies varied from country to country.
The Front Line Arab states were Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. Each of these countries received Palestinian refugess. Palestinian refugees since 1948 have been living in a sort of legal limbo in these and other mostly Arab states. Palestinian refugees are treated differently than all other rfugees around the world. Their are cared for by a special United Nations Agency--UNRA. The rights of Palestinian refugees are also defined differently from those of all other refugees. Their situation varies significantl from country to country. Importantly in contrast to the popular image, most Palestinian refugees do not live in camps.
There are about 1.9 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan (2008). Unlike other countries, all the Palestinian refugees have Jordanian citizenship. Only about 0.3 million live in camps.
There are an about 0.4 million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon wo have registered with UNRA. About half of them live in camps. There are believed to be an additional 40,000 wh have not registered for various reasons. There are also an additional 10,000 are "non-ID" Palestinians, meaning Palestinians who escaped from Jordan duringbthe fighting with the Palestiniansattempted to seize control of the Jordanian Government (September 1970). They have for various reasons not bothered to register with Lebnese authorities. Lebanon, like Syria, ratified the 1965 Casablanca protocol on treatment of Palestinian refugees. The Lebanese in actual practice has not fully complied. The Lebanese Government severely curtails the rights of the Palestinians. They are not permitted access to Lebanese schools or health facilities.
There are about 430,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria. About 250,000 live in official or unofficial camps. The Palestinian refugees in Syria can work and travel, but they are not citizens and thus cannot vote. In Syria of course this does not mean a great deal. Syrian officials claim that they have not been accorded citizenship to "preserve their identity."
The Isrealis declared a state. The Palestinians never did so. Instread the West Bank and East Jerusalem was annexed by Jordon. Jordan unlike the other Front Line states provided the Palestinian refugees citzenship. The other Front Line states not only denied the Palestinians citzenship, they denied freedom of movement and restricted the fields in which they could work. There are 0.7 million Palestinian Refugees in the West Bank. Less than 0.2 million live in camps (2008). They like the Gaza Palestinians are citizens of the Palestinian Authority.
The Gaza Strip was Egyptian, but as a result of the peace process is no longer claimed by Egypt. Many images highlighting the difficult living conditions Palestinans faced were taken in Gaza refugee camps after the First Isreali-Palestinian War (1948-49). A myth about the Paestinian refugees, however, is that “Israel forced the Palestinian refugees to stay in primitive Gaza camps". This was Egyptian not Isreali policy. There are slightly under 1.0 million Palestinian refugees. All re citizens of the Palestinian Authority. About half of them live in refugee camps.
The Palestinians and most Arab sources blame the Isrealis for the refugee problem. This assessment has to consider both the refugees and the refugee problem. The Isrealis also had refugees, but they solved the problem. The Palestinisans have never solved the problem. One has to ask why this was.
We note one assessment. "The refugee problem is the result of mistakes by the host countries. Clearly, the refugee problem is mainly the result of cumulative mistakes made by the countries where [the refugees] live... such as Syria and Lebanon, which have isolated the refugees in poor and shabby camps lacking the most basic conditions for a dignified human existence. Instead of helping them to become fully integrated in their new society, they let them become victims of isolation and suffering... Later, the worst of all happened when Arab intelligence agencies used the Palestinian organizations as a tool for settling scores in internal Arab conflicts that probably have nothing to do with the Palestinians..."
"The Israelis, on the other hand, were civilized and humane in their treatment of the thousands of Jewish refugees who had lost their property, homes and businesses in the Arab countries, and who were forced to emigrate to Israel after the 1948 war. The Israeli government received them, helped them, and provided them with all the conditions] to become integrated in their new society...
The lies of the Syrian Ba'th regime, and its trading in slogans like 'right of return,' 'steadfastness,' 'resistance,' 'national struggle,' and all the other ridiculous [slogans], are evident from the fact that, to this day, dozens of Palestinian families [remain] stranded in the desert on the Syrian-Iraqi border". [Al-Sweidan]
Another assessment insists that demanding the right of return provd to be a futile exercise by the Palestinians. The result was to in effect keep the Palestinian refugees imprisoned in squalid, degrading refugee camps. One Palestinian observer insists that it is now time to give up this right and to exert pressure on Arab governments to recognize Palestinian refugees as actual citizens, allow them to work and grant them full freedom of movement. [Eid]
A U.N. aid worker wrote, ""The Arab states do not want to solve the refugee problem. They want to keep it as an open sore, as an affront to the United Nations and as a weapon against Israel. Arab leaders don t give a damn whether the refugees live or die". [Galloway, p 71.]
Al-Sweidan, Yousef Nasser. :On the Impossible [Idea] of the Right of Return," Al-Siyassa (Kuwait daily) (March 5, 2007). With acknowledgement to MEMRI - Special Dispatch April 12, 2007. Al-Sweidan is a Saudi columnist.
Eid, Bassem. BBC Doha Debate, April 14 2007. Eid is an award-winning human rights activist. He is the Founder and Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group which exposes human rights violations by both Israelis and Palestinians.
Galloway, Ralph. Quoted by Terence Prittie in y Michael Curtis and Joseph Meyer (Editors),
The Palestinians: People History, Politics. Galloway was the former director of UN aid to the Palestinians in Jordan.
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