2 sept 2013
Thousands attended the funeral of three men killed by Israeli forces in Qalandiya refugee camp last week.
During the early morning hours of Monday, 26 August, undercover and uniformed Israeli forces invaded Qalandiya refugee camp, near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, during an arrest operation. When residents confronted them, clashes ensued.
Eyewitnesses who spoke to The Electronic Intifada, as well as human rights groups and the United Nations, have contradicted key elements of Israel’s claims about the invasion that left dead three Palestinian civilians, including an employee of the UN refugee agency UNRWA.
“It felt like the refugee camp was Gaza,” Yehya Mteir, a camp resident who witnessed the raid, recalled.
“One of my friends was shot in the arm by a dumdum bullet,” he added, referring to bullets that explode inside their target after entrance. “He asked me to look at it, and I became scared because it looked like the only thing holding his arm to his body was the sleeve of his shirt.”
Qalandiya is home to some 11,000 United Nations-registered Palestinian refugees — nearly half of its population are 14 years old or younger.
The invading Israeli soldiers met resistance from local residents, who threw stones at the military jeeps as they tried to navigate the narrow alleyways of the camp, as documented on video.
Live ammunition
During the clashes, soldiers responded by firing live ammunition at the crowd, fatally wounding three young Palestinian men: 20-year-old Jihad Aslan, 22-year-old Younis Jahjouh and 34-year-old Rubeen Abdulrahman Zayid.
A report released by Human Rights Watch today, referring to medical sources, states that “5 of the 18 people wounded by gunfire during the clashes were under 18 years old, and 12 of the 18 required surgery.”
According to Al Jazeera English, 3,000 people came to the funeral on Tuesday and marched with the families of the deceased.
Deadly arrest operation
An Israeli military spokesperson, Luba Samri, told Agence France-Presse that border police entered Qalandiya camp “to arrest a hostile terrorist activist,” referring to Yousef al-Khatib, who was recently released from Israeli prison after ten years of detention, according to the Ma’an News Agency.
According to Human Rights Watch, Israeli forces at first arrested a relative of al-Khatib, mistaking him for the wanted man, zip-cuffed and blindfolded him and drove him to a nearby military base. “One of them was hitting me in the stomach all the way there with a heavy object, maybe a fire extinguisher,” the relative testified to the rights group.
After being informed by the Israeli soldiers that Yousef al-Khatib had been arrested, the relative was then driven back to Qalandiya camp to identify al-Khatib. “I could barely recognize him. They had broken his nose and knocked out his teeth, and his hand was broken,” the same relative told Human Rights Watch.
Al-Khatib is currently detained without charge at the Ofer military jail in the occupied West Bank.
“We had no guns”
“After [al-Khatib’s] arrest a mob of about 1,500 residents began a disturbance, throwing petrol bombs and stones, endangering the lives of force members, who responded with riot dispersal means,” Israeli army spokesperson Samri added.
The Israeli military also accused Palestinians of shooting at soldiers, saying that “bullet holes were later discovered in the [military] vehicles,” as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Yehya Mteir, who was present during the clashes, denied the Israeli military spokesperson’s version of events.
“One of the martyrs was my close friend, and we were together the night before,” he said.
“There was only one tear gas canister fired at the beginning and one at the end, but other than that, it was all live ammunition and dumdum bullets,” he added.
“There were so many people in the streets because everyone was on the way to work; usually [the military] comes in while we’re asleep,” Mteir explained. “The only means of fighting we had were rocks. We had no guns or Molotov cocktails, none of us.”
Human Rights Watch’s report on the incident refers to camp residents throwing stones, Molotov cocktails and other objects but states that “soldiers shot Palestinians who were not throwing stones in circumstances indicating that they intentionally used lethal force that was not necessary to protect life …”
Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said in an interview with The Electronic Intifada that the agency’s investigation found discrepancies in the Israeli military’s claims.
Human Rights Watch also stated today that Israeli soldiers “appear to have used unlawful lethal force” during the raid, calling for the prosecution of those soldiers “who shot people unlawfully.”
“All of the people we interviewed strongly denied that Palestinians shot [live ammunition], or said that they were not aware of it,” Bill Van Esveld, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, told The Electronic Intifada. “If the Israeli military has evidence of this, they should make it public.”
UN employee killed
One of those killed, Rubeen Zayid, a 34-year-old father with four children, was an UNRWA employee.
“We have nine independent eyewitness accounts which all confirm that he was unarmed, he was not involved in violence, not engaged in throwing stones, and yet he was shot with a bullet through the chest no questions,” UNRWA spokesperson Gunness told The Electronic Intifada.
As Zayid made his way to work, he attempted to bypass the clashes. When the Israeli soldiers opened fire, a bullet struck him in the chest and killed him on the spot.
“According to the eyewitnesses we spoke to, there were no Molotov cocktails or petrol bombs in the area where Rubeen was killed,” Gunness said.
Mteir also said that Zayid “was just going to work. He was not fighting or throwing rocks at the Israelis.”
According to Human Rights Watch’s investigation, Van Esveld said, Zayid was “walking around the corner and was shot in the chest … witnesses told us that no one around him was throwing stones. The last soldier was getting into the last military vehicle as they were leaving, turned and shot him in the chest.”
Another UNRWA employee was also shot in the back of the leg as he attempted to avoid the clashes, Gunness said. An eyewitness interviewed by Human Rights Watch stated that “there was a single shot, which he believed indicated that the soldier had aimed deliberately at Abu Murad,” a 50-year-old trash collector with the UN agency.
The rights group adds: “both witnesses to Abu Murad’s shooting said they did not see anyone throwing stones at the Israeli forces from Abu Murad’s direction in the street at that time.”
UNRWA condemns killing
“UNRWA condemns the killing of its staff member and calls on all sides, at this delicate time, to exercise maximum constraint and act in accordance with international law,” an UNRWA press release states.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a response condemning UNRWA’s statement as “one-sided political advocacy.”
“Quite aside from the fact that UNRWA did not even bother to approach any official Israeli sources for comment, its statement was rushed to the presses while violent riots were still raging on in Qalandiya,” the MFA states.
Gunness, however, disputed both of these accusations. “This statement by the Israeli MFA is classic case of the right hand needing to know what the left hand is doing. We spoke to both the MFA and the Israeli military before our statement was published,” he told The Electronic Intifada.
“Their claim about the timing of our report is clearly nonsense,” Gunness added. “Our statement was issued about 12 hours after our staff member was shot dead. In this location, the clashes had long stopped.”
Israel cites Kahanist filmmaker
Attacking the refugee agency’s investigation, the MFA statement further denounces UNRWA as “consistently fail[ing] to display similar zeal and enthusiasm when asked to investigate its own cases of wrongdoing,” linking to a Times of Israel article on a propaganda film released in July titled Camp Jihad.
The filmmaker, David Bedein, is a right-wing Israeli journalist who lives in the Efrat settlement colony in the West Bank and regularly accuses the UN of fostering anti-Semitism and promoting violence among Palestinians.
The film has been cited by Israeli officials since its release.
On 14 August, the official Twitter account of the Israeli Mission to the UN, headed by Ambassador Ron Prosor, promoted and linked to the Camp Jihad film, stating: “UNRWA prides itself on ‘neutrality’ — but the horrific incitement in their summer camps tell a different story.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated the film’s claims during a 16 August meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Palestinian refugee camps, Netanyahu claimed, “have been used … to instill the culture of hatred and ideas about destroying Israel amidst Palestinian children … I trust you will make sure these abuses of UN goals and UN funds does not continue.”
Netanyahu’s remark was also partially quoted by the Israeli Mission to the UN’s Twitter account.
“Grossly misleading” claims
In a statement published on UNRWA’s website, spokesperson Gunness vigorously rejects the film’s claims, adding that the “film is grossly misleading and we regret the damage it has caused to UNRWA and the United Nations.
“The filmmaker concerned [David Bedein] has a history of making baseless claims about UNRWA, all of which we have investigated and demonstrated to be patently false. It has long been the practice of the filmmaker to show non-UNRWA activities and portray them as activities of UNRWA,” Gunness’ statement adds.
An October 2011 UNRWA statement cites scholar Rex Brynen’s exposure of Bedein as “having Kahanist links,” referring to the ultra-nationalist movement based on the ideology of Meir Kahane.
Kahane founded the Jewish Defense League, classified as a right-wing terrorist group by the FBI, and the Kach Party, designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada and the European Union.
The UNRWA statement quotes Brynen: “Bedein has also published work under the auspices of his organization with Samuel Sokol — an ultra-right-wing activist who, in pictures he once proudly posted online, can be seen posing with weapons in front of a Kahanist … flag.”
On the condition of anonymity, a senior diplomatic source told The Electronic Intifada that “it’s extraordinary but perhaps not surprising that the Israeli ambassador would urge the Israeli PM [Benjamin Netanyahu] to quote someone with Kahanist links to the secretary general of the United Nations.”
“It aptly demonstrates how perverse and sick the narrative has become. Imagine what would happen if such a link were present on the Palestinian side,” the source added.
Excessive use of force
Fourteen Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli soldiers so far this year, including those shot to death during the Qalandiya raid.
International human rights organizations have condemned the latest killings.
“The death of [Rubeen Zayid] raises concerns that this may have been an extrajudicial execution in violation of international law,” Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
“This deadly arrest raid appears to be yet another example of the use of excessive force by Israeli troops in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” Luther added.
Human Rights Watch has also called for an immediate criminal investigation into the raid.
UNRWA grounds repeatedly attacked
UN reporting consistently suggests that UNRWA grounds have been regularly attacked, despite that they are supposed to be neutral areas and off-limits to Israeli military. This reporting paints a disturbing pattern of violations: tear gas canisters, sound grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets frequently land on or strike UNRWA premises.
Twenty-six violations were recorded during the first half of 2013 alone. In one instance on 27 June, more than 100 tear gas canisters fired by the Israeli military landed in a girls’ school at the Qalandiya refugee camp.
Israeli forces have killed and injured UNRWA workers and attacked the agency’s premises multiple times in the past decade.
Amid fighting in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank in November 2002, an UNRWA project manager, Iain Hook, was shot and killed by an Israeli military sniper.
As Israel escalated attacks on the Gaza Strip in December 2002, two UNRWA employees were killed, neither of whom were believed to have been engaged in fighting.
During Israel’s brutal assault on the Gaza Strip in winter 2008-09, Israeli forces shelled an UNRWA school, al-Fakhura, in the Jabaliya refugee camp in January 2009. At least 40 Palestinians were killed and more than 50 were injured.
During Israel’s November 2012 military offensive on Gaza, the Israeli government made allegations through social media that UNRWA was permitting armed resistance organizations to launch rockets towards Israel. UNRWA categorically dismissed these claims.
Impunity
Considering the long record of Israeli impunity, it is unlikely that there will be any accountability for the three deaths in Qalandiya last Monday. When asked about the likelihood of an internal Israeli military investigation, Van Esveld said, “The record is clear.”
According to the latest statistics by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, 6,706 Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories have been killed by Israeli forces since the outbreak of the second Intifada in September 2000.
Yet a recent report [PDF] by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din finds that only 16 investigation files opened in that time period led to indictments.
Furthermore, a mere seven Israeli soldiers were convicted of killing six civilians, one of whom was a British national.
Though rarely punished for killing civilians, Israeli soldiers stationed in the West Bank city of Hebron were recently “disciplined accordingly,” according to a military statement, for entering a Palestinian wedding party and dancing with the attendees.
“Israel’s wars on Gaza happened and the whole world knew about it without doing anything,” Qalandiya resident Yehya Mteir concluded. “The destruction of the Jenin refugee camp happened and nothing changed,” he added, referring to the 2002 invasion in the northern West Bank.
“But this time was really hard. People in [Qalandiya] camp have stopped sleeping because we’re staying up worried, waiting for the Israelis to come.”
Patrick O. Strickland is an investigative journalist for Mint Press News. His articles have appeared at Al Jazeera English, Truthout, and Electronic Intifada. Follow him on Twitter: @P_Strickland_.
During the early morning hours of Monday, 26 August, undercover and uniformed Israeli forces invaded Qalandiya refugee camp, near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, during an arrest operation. When residents confronted them, clashes ensued.
Eyewitnesses who spoke to The Electronic Intifada, as well as human rights groups and the United Nations, have contradicted key elements of Israel’s claims about the invasion that left dead three Palestinian civilians, including an employee of the UN refugee agency UNRWA.
“It felt like the refugee camp was Gaza,” Yehya Mteir, a camp resident who witnessed the raid, recalled.
“One of my friends was shot in the arm by a dumdum bullet,” he added, referring to bullets that explode inside their target after entrance. “He asked me to look at it, and I became scared because it looked like the only thing holding his arm to his body was the sleeve of his shirt.”
Qalandiya is home to some 11,000 United Nations-registered Palestinian refugees — nearly half of its population are 14 years old or younger.
The invading Israeli soldiers met resistance from local residents, who threw stones at the military jeeps as they tried to navigate the narrow alleyways of the camp, as documented on video.
Live ammunition
During the clashes, soldiers responded by firing live ammunition at the crowd, fatally wounding three young Palestinian men: 20-year-old Jihad Aslan, 22-year-old Younis Jahjouh and 34-year-old Rubeen Abdulrahman Zayid.
A report released by Human Rights Watch today, referring to medical sources, states that “5 of the 18 people wounded by gunfire during the clashes were under 18 years old, and 12 of the 18 required surgery.”
According to Al Jazeera English, 3,000 people came to the funeral on Tuesday and marched with the families of the deceased.
Deadly arrest operation
An Israeli military spokesperson, Luba Samri, told Agence France-Presse that border police entered Qalandiya camp “to arrest a hostile terrorist activist,” referring to Yousef al-Khatib, who was recently released from Israeli prison after ten years of detention, according to the Ma’an News Agency.
According to Human Rights Watch, Israeli forces at first arrested a relative of al-Khatib, mistaking him for the wanted man, zip-cuffed and blindfolded him and drove him to a nearby military base. “One of them was hitting me in the stomach all the way there with a heavy object, maybe a fire extinguisher,” the relative testified to the rights group.
After being informed by the Israeli soldiers that Yousef al-Khatib had been arrested, the relative was then driven back to Qalandiya camp to identify al-Khatib. “I could barely recognize him. They had broken his nose and knocked out his teeth, and his hand was broken,” the same relative told Human Rights Watch.
Al-Khatib is currently detained without charge at the Ofer military jail in the occupied West Bank.
“We had no guns”
“After [al-Khatib’s] arrest a mob of about 1,500 residents began a disturbance, throwing petrol bombs and stones, endangering the lives of force members, who responded with riot dispersal means,” Israeli army spokesperson Samri added.
The Israeli military also accused Palestinians of shooting at soldiers, saying that “bullet holes were later discovered in the [military] vehicles,” as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Yehya Mteir, who was present during the clashes, denied the Israeli military spokesperson’s version of events.
“One of the martyrs was my close friend, and we were together the night before,” he said.
“There was only one tear gas canister fired at the beginning and one at the end, but other than that, it was all live ammunition and dumdum bullets,” he added.
“There were so many people in the streets because everyone was on the way to work; usually [the military] comes in while we’re asleep,” Mteir explained. “The only means of fighting we had were rocks. We had no guns or Molotov cocktails, none of us.”
Human Rights Watch’s report on the incident refers to camp residents throwing stones, Molotov cocktails and other objects but states that “soldiers shot Palestinians who were not throwing stones in circumstances indicating that they intentionally used lethal force that was not necessary to protect life …”
Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said in an interview with The Electronic Intifada that the agency’s investigation found discrepancies in the Israeli military’s claims.
Human Rights Watch also stated today that Israeli soldiers “appear to have used unlawful lethal force” during the raid, calling for the prosecution of those soldiers “who shot people unlawfully.”
“All of the people we interviewed strongly denied that Palestinians shot [live ammunition], or said that they were not aware of it,” Bill Van Esveld, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, told The Electronic Intifada. “If the Israeli military has evidence of this, they should make it public.”
UN employee killed
One of those killed, Rubeen Zayid, a 34-year-old father with four children, was an UNRWA employee.
“We have nine independent eyewitness accounts which all confirm that he was unarmed, he was not involved in violence, not engaged in throwing stones, and yet he was shot with a bullet through the chest no questions,” UNRWA spokesperson Gunness told The Electronic Intifada.
As Zayid made his way to work, he attempted to bypass the clashes. When the Israeli soldiers opened fire, a bullet struck him in the chest and killed him on the spot.
“According to the eyewitnesses we spoke to, there were no Molotov cocktails or petrol bombs in the area where Rubeen was killed,” Gunness said.
Mteir also said that Zayid “was just going to work. He was not fighting or throwing rocks at the Israelis.”
According to Human Rights Watch’s investigation, Van Esveld said, Zayid was “walking around the corner and was shot in the chest … witnesses told us that no one around him was throwing stones. The last soldier was getting into the last military vehicle as they were leaving, turned and shot him in the chest.”
Another UNRWA employee was also shot in the back of the leg as he attempted to avoid the clashes, Gunness said. An eyewitness interviewed by Human Rights Watch stated that “there was a single shot, which he believed indicated that the soldier had aimed deliberately at Abu Murad,” a 50-year-old trash collector with the UN agency.
The rights group adds: “both witnesses to Abu Murad’s shooting said they did not see anyone throwing stones at the Israeli forces from Abu Murad’s direction in the street at that time.”
UNRWA condemns killing
“UNRWA condemns the killing of its staff member and calls on all sides, at this delicate time, to exercise maximum constraint and act in accordance with international law,” an UNRWA press release states.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a response condemning UNRWA’s statement as “one-sided political advocacy.”
“Quite aside from the fact that UNRWA did not even bother to approach any official Israeli sources for comment, its statement was rushed to the presses while violent riots were still raging on in Qalandiya,” the MFA states.
Gunness, however, disputed both of these accusations. “This statement by the Israeli MFA is classic case of the right hand needing to know what the left hand is doing. We spoke to both the MFA and the Israeli military before our statement was published,” he told The Electronic Intifada.
“Their claim about the timing of our report is clearly nonsense,” Gunness added. “Our statement was issued about 12 hours after our staff member was shot dead. In this location, the clashes had long stopped.”
Israel cites Kahanist filmmaker
Attacking the refugee agency’s investigation, the MFA statement further denounces UNRWA as “consistently fail[ing] to display similar zeal and enthusiasm when asked to investigate its own cases of wrongdoing,” linking to a Times of Israel article on a propaganda film released in July titled Camp Jihad.
The filmmaker, David Bedein, is a right-wing Israeli journalist who lives in the Efrat settlement colony in the West Bank and regularly accuses the UN of fostering anti-Semitism and promoting violence among Palestinians.
The film has been cited by Israeli officials since its release.
On 14 August, the official Twitter account of the Israeli Mission to the UN, headed by Ambassador Ron Prosor, promoted and linked to the Camp Jihad film, stating: “UNRWA prides itself on ‘neutrality’ — but the horrific incitement in their summer camps tell a different story.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated the film’s claims during a 16 August meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Palestinian refugee camps, Netanyahu claimed, “have been used … to instill the culture of hatred and ideas about destroying Israel amidst Palestinian children … I trust you will make sure these abuses of UN goals and UN funds does not continue.”
Netanyahu’s remark was also partially quoted by the Israeli Mission to the UN’s Twitter account.
“Grossly misleading” claims
In a statement published on UNRWA’s website, spokesperson Gunness vigorously rejects the film’s claims, adding that the “film is grossly misleading and we regret the damage it has caused to UNRWA and the United Nations.
“The filmmaker concerned [David Bedein] has a history of making baseless claims about UNRWA, all of which we have investigated and demonstrated to be patently false. It has long been the practice of the filmmaker to show non-UNRWA activities and portray them as activities of UNRWA,” Gunness’ statement adds.
An October 2011 UNRWA statement cites scholar Rex Brynen’s exposure of Bedein as “having Kahanist links,” referring to the ultra-nationalist movement based on the ideology of Meir Kahane.
Kahane founded the Jewish Defense League, classified as a right-wing terrorist group by the FBI, and the Kach Party, designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada and the European Union.
The UNRWA statement quotes Brynen: “Bedein has also published work under the auspices of his organization with Samuel Sokol — an ultra-right-wing activist who, in pictures he once proudly posted online, can be seen posing with weapons in front of a Kahanist … flag.”
On the condition of anonymity, a senior diplomatic source told The Electronic Intifada that “it’s extraordinary but perhaps not surprising that the Israeli ambassador would urge the Israeli PM [Benjamin Netanyahu] to quote someone with Kahanist links to the secretary general of the United Nations.”
“It aptly demonstrates how perverse and sick the narrative has become. Imagine what would happen if such a link were present on the Palestinian side,” the source added.
Excessive use of force
Fourteen Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli soldiers so far this year, including those shot to death during the Qalandiya raid.
International human rights organizations have condemned the latest killings.
“The death of [Rubeen Zayid] raises concerns that this may have been an extrajudicial execution in violation of international law,” Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
“This deadly arrest raid appears to be yet another example of the use of excessive force by Israeli troops in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” Luther added.
Human Rights Watch has also called for an immediate criminal investigation into the raid.
UNRWA grounds repeatedly attacked
UN reporting consistently suggests that UNRWA grounds have been regularly attacked, despite that they are supposed to be neutral areas and off-limits to Israeli military. This reporting paints a disturbing pattern of violations: tear gas canisters, sound grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets frequently land on or strike UNRWA premises.
Twenty-six violations were recorded during the first half of 2013 alone. In one instance on 27 June, more than 100 tear gas canisters fired by the Israeli military landed in a girls’ school at the Qalandiya refugee camp.
Israeli forces have killed and injured UNRWA workers and attacked the agency’s premises multiple times in the past decade.
Amid fighting in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank in November 2002, an UNRWA project manager, Iain Hook, was shot and killed by an Israeli military sniper.
As Israel escalated attacks on the Gaza Strip in December 2002, two UNRWA employees were killed, neither of whom were believed to have been engaged in fighting.
During Israel’s brutal assault on the Gaza Strip in winter 2008-09, Israeli forces shelled an UNRWA school, al-Fakhura, in the Jabaliya refugee camp in January 2009. At least 40 Palestinians were killed and more than 50 were injured.
During Israel’s November 2012 military offensive on Gaza, the Israeli government made allegations through social media that UNRWA was permitting armed resistance organizations to launch rockets towards Israel. UNRWA categorically dismissed these claims.
Impunity
Considering the long record of Israeli impunity, it is unlikely that there will be any accountability for the three deaths in Qalandiya last Monday. When asked about the likelihood of an internal Israeli military investigation, Van Esveld said, “The record is clear.”
According to the latest statistics by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, 6,706 Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories have been killed by Israeli forces since the outbreak of the second Intifada in September 2000.
Yet a recent report [PDF] by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din finds that only 16 investigation files opened in that time period led to indictments.
Furthermore, a mere seven Israeli soldiers were convicted of killing six civilians, one of whom was a British national.
Though rarely punished for killing civilians, Israeli soldiers stationed in the West Bank city of Hebron were recently “disciplined accordingly,” according to a military statement, for entering a Palestinian wedding party and dancing with the attendees.
“Israel’s wars on Gaza happened and the whole world knew about it without doing anything,” Qalandiya resident Yehya Mteir concluded. “The destruction of the Jenin refugee camp happened and nothing changed,” he added, referring to the 2002 invasion in the northern West Bank.
“But this time was really hard. People in [Qalandiya] camp have stopped sleeping because we’re staying up worried, waiting for the Israelis to come.”
Patrick O. Strickland is an investigative journalist for Mint Press News. His articles have appeared at Al Jazeera English, Truthout, and Electronic Intifada. Follow him on Twitter: @P_Strickland_.
Palestinians walk near the controversial Israeli barrier as they cross into Jerusalem at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, July 26, 2013
For the first time in decades, a major confrontation is about to take place in the Middle East in which Palestinians are totally uninvolved. The expected attack against Syria and the potential for the widening of the theater of war to neighboring countries has so far totally excluded Palestine. One informal chart shows lines of support and hatred between the various countries and parties in the region, with no mention of Palestine and Palestinians.
Part of the reason for confidence that Palestinians will not be on the receiving end of any retaliatory attack is the simple fact that in all direct and indirect threats by the Syrian government against Israel, Turkey and Jordan, the Palestinians have never been mentioned. In fact, Syrians, and for that matter, many other Arab regional powers, are competing to support Palestinians the most.
Syria holds a political dilemma for the Palestinians. Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, the largest in Syria, have been caught between both sides and suffered as a result. In the Aug. 21 chemical attacks, many Palestinians were reportedly killed, including two families from Jenin and Nazareth who lost a total of 31 family members.
Talking to Palestinians of all walks of life, one gets a sense of total relaxation regarding their own situation, though they are generally interested in the ultimate outcomes for the region. They watch Israelis rushing to obtain gas masks but make little protest that no one has thought of them.
This complacency might be misplaced. Although remote in distance, a possible attack on Syria could provoke retaliation that might fall dangerously close to Palestine. Palestinians still remember vividly the preparations for the Iraqi scud missile attacks. At first, Palestinians were caught up in the Israeli frenzy to create an environment safe from chemical weapons. But as they saw the scuds fly over the West Bank toward Israeli coastal towns, they went to their rooftops to see the missiles above their heads.
Palestinians working in Israel, however, are not in such a comfortable position. In recent years, the number of Palestinians from Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank working deep in Israel has risen, and it is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinians are now working there. The social problems and violence that Israelis have had with African workers has prompted Israeli employers to rehire Palestinian laborers, who return to their villages each night rather than linger in Israeli towns.
The situation for Palestinian citizens of Israel is also not so easy. Palestinians in the Galilee and in mixed towns like Haifa, Jaffa, Akko and Lod are not as apathetic, as they could easily become victims of a possible Syrian retaliatory attack.
Political analysts have largely discounted the possibility of a major Syrian retaliatory attack against Israel. While it has become customary to threaten the region’s biggest US ally, it is difficult to imagine the Syrian regime would risk its position only to make a political statement. Israel, while claiming neutrality to the current Syrian crisis, has publicly made it clear it will react forcefully to any attack against it. Syrians are quite aware the Israelis would not hesitate to respond forcefully to any attack.
While Palestinians wait to see the results of the current Syrian conflict, they are aware that peace talks are continuing with Israel, albeit in low profile and on a low burner. In a strange way, some Palestinians in the West Bank are glad that for once, they are not in the eye of a violent Middle Eastern storm.
Daoud Kuttab is a contributing writer for Al-Monitor's Palestine Pulse. A Palestinian journalist and media activist, he is a former Ferris Professor of journalism at Princeton University and is currently the director-general of Community Media Network, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing independent media in the Arab region. On Twitter: @daoudkuttab
For the first time in decades, a major confrontation is about to take place in the Middle East in which Palestinians are totally uninvolved. The expected attack against Syria and the potential for the widening of the theater of war to neighboring countries has so far totally excluded Palestine. One informal chart shows lines of support and hatred between the various countries and parties in the region, with no mention of Palestine and Palestinians.
Part of the reason for confidence that Palestinians will not be on the receiving end of any retaliatory attack is the simple fact that in all direct and indirect threats by the Syrian government against Israel, Turkey and Jordan, the Palestinians have never been mentioned. In fact, Syrians, and for that matter, many other Arab regional powers, are competing to support Palestinians the most.
Syria holds a political dilemma for the Palestinians. Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, the largest in Syria, have been caught between both sides and suffered as a result. In the Aug. 21 chemical attacks, many Palestinians were reportedly killed, including two families from Jenin and Nazareth who lost a total of 31 family members.
Talking to Palestinians of all walks of life, one gets a sense of total relaxation regarding their own situation, though they are generally interested in the ultimate outcomes for the region. They watch Israelis rushing to obtain gas masks but make little protest that no one has thought of them.
This complacency might be misplaced. Although remote in distance, a possible attack on Syria could provoke retaliation that might fall dangerously close to Palestine. Palestinians still remember vividly the preparations for the Iraqi scud missile attacks. At first, Palestinians were caught up in the Israeli frenzy to create an environment safe from chemical weapons. But as they saw the scuds fly over the West Bank toward Israeli coastal towns, they went to their rooftops to see the missiles above their heads.
Palestinians working in Israel, however, are not in such a comfortable position. In recent years, the number of Palestinians from Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank working deep in Israel has risen, and it is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinians are now working there. The social problems and violence that Israelis have had with African workers has prompted Israeli employers to rehire Palestinian laborers, who return to their villages each night rather than linger in Israeli towns.
The situation for Palestinian citizens of Israel is also not so easy. Palestinians in the Galilee and in mixed towns like Haifa, Jaffa, Akko and Lod are not as apathetic, as they could easily become victims of a possible Syrian retaliatory attack.
Political analysts have largely discounted the possibility of a major Syrian retaliatory attack against Israel. While it has become customary to threaten the region’s biggest US ally, it is difficult to imagine the Syrian regime would risk its position only to make a political statement. Israel, while claiming neutrality to the current Syrian crisis, has publicly made it clear it will react forcefully to any attack against it. Syrians are quite aware the Israelis would not hesitate to respond forcefully to any attack.
While Palestinians wait to see the results of the current Syrian conflict, they are aware that peace talks are continuing with Israel, albeit in low profile and on a low burner. In a strange way, some Palestinians in the West Bank are glad that for once, they are not in the eye of a violent Middle Eastern storm.
Daoud Kuttab is a contributing writer for Al-Monitor's Palestine Pulse. A Palestinian journalist and media activist, he is a former Ferris Professor of journalism at Princeton University and is currently the director-general of Community Media Network, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing independent media in the Arab region. On Twitter: @daoudkuttab
1 sept 2013
As children around the world prepare to go back to school this fall, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) regrets to announce that over half of its schools in Syria have closed, affecting nearly two thirds of Palestine refugee students there.
UNRWA Spokesperson Chris Gunness said: “Whether because of damage to buildings or because of the overall insecurity, nearly two thirds of our students in Syria will not be able to return to their schools this fall. This means nearly 45,000 children have had their education disrupted, making it even harder for them to maintain a sense of continuity in a situation that is already indescribably difficult.”
Of the Agency’s 118 schools in Syria, only 49 will reopen for the 2013/14 school year. The Ministry of Education has enabled UNRWA to use 41 additional schools to help address the needs of Palestine refugee students. Other efforts to reach out to students have included the development of distance-learning materials, the delivery of TV-broadcast lessons through the UNRWA TV Channel and an increase in the number of school counsellors providing psychosocial support, but the fact remains that the doors of 69 UNRWA schools have closed.
Dr Caroline Pontefract, UNRWA Director of Education, said: “The situation in Syria is a great challenge, but it has only increased the importance of ensuring that Palestine refugees have access to high-quality and continued education. We are committed to working with host governments and other partners to make sure that we can assist Palestine refugee students and minimize major disruptions to their education.”
The effects of the conflict in Syria are being felt around the region, as thousands have fled to neighbouring countries. Around 50,000 Palestine refugees from Syria are now in Lebanon, but only 35 per cent of students have enrolled in school. In Jordan, the vast majority live in abject poverty, unable to afford even basic food items. In both cases, the influx puts greater strain on UNRWA resources.
In the West Bank, access to education continues to be threatened by demolitions and restrictive policies. Students in Gaza, where high demand means that 93 per cent of UNRWA schools already operate double shifts, struggle with poverty, emotional distress and conflict. The emergency situations throughout all five of the Agency’s fields make it particularly urgent for UNRWA to continue ensuring education services for children. Particularly in such times, education is a vital investment in the human development of Palestine refugees.
UNRWA Spokesperson Chris Gunness said: “Whether because of damage to buildings or because of the overall insecurity, nearly two thirds of our students in Syria will not be able to return to their schools this fall. This means nearly 45,000 children have had their education disrupted, making it even harder for them to maintain a sense of continuity in a situation that is already indescribably difficult.”
Of the Agency’s 118 schools in Syria, only 49 will reopen for the 2013/14 school year. The Ministry of Education has enabled UNRWA to use 41 additional schools to help address the needs of Palestine refugee students. Other efforts to reach out to students have included the development of distance-learning materials, the delivery of TV-broadcast lessons through the UNRWA TV Channel and an increase in the number of school counsellors providing psychosocial support, but the fact remains that the doors of 69 UNRWA schools have closed.
Dr Caroline Pontefract, UNRWA Director of Education, said: “The situation in Syria is a great challenge, but it has only increased the importance of ensuring that Palestine refugees have access to high-quality and continued education. We are committed to working with host governments and other partners to make sure that we can assist Palestine refugee students and minimize major disruptions to their education.”
The effects of the conflict in Syria are being felt around the region, as thousands have fled to neighbouring countries. Around 50,000 Palestine refugees from Syria are now in Lebanon, but only 35 per cent of students have enrolled in school. In Jordan, the vast majority live in abject poverty, unable to afford even basic food items. In both cases, the influx puts greater strain on UNRWA resources.
In the West Bank, access to education continues to be threatened by demolitions and restrictive policies. Students in Gaza, where high demand means that 93 per cent of UNRWA schools already operate double shifts, struggle with poverty, emotional distress and conflict. The emergency situations throughout all five of the Agency’s fields make it particularly urgent for UNRWA to continue ensuring education services for children. Particularly in such times, education is a vital investment in the human development of Palestine refugees.
Haifa Street, Al- Yarmouk camp after being bombed
Syrian regime army resumed on Saturday the shelling of Al-Yarmouk refugee camp, shells hit different places of the camp , no injuries, Action Group for Palestinians of Syria reported. The group explained in a statement that Palestinians in AL-Yarmouk, Soubeinah, Al-'aedeen, and Khan Al-Shiekh refugee camps suffer deteriorated living conditions.
Al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp remains under an almost complete regime blockade, which has led to the deterioration in humanitarian and living conditions. The camp also suffers from a shortage in medical supplies as well as medical staff.
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to neighboring Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
Syrian regime army resumed on Saturday the shelling of Al-Yarmouk refugee camp, shells hit different places of the camp , no injuries, Action Group for Palestinians of Syria reported. The group explained in a statement that Palestinians in AL-Yarmouk, Soubeinah, Al-'aedeen, and Khan Al-Shiekh refugee camps suffer deteriorated living conditions.
Al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp remains under an almost complete regime blockade, which has led to the deterioration in humanitarian and living conditions. The camp also suffers from a shortage in medical supplies as well as medical staff.
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to neighboring Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
31 aug 2013
Palestinian refugees fleeing the violence in Syria have been refused entry into Lebanon for three weeks now.
Since August 6, according to Human Rights Watch, the Lebanese government has turned back Palestinians who had originally sought refuge in Syria when they were forced from their homes in 1948 and 1967, and are now fleeing once more with their descendants, this time from the conflict in Syria.
A source at the Lebanese General Security confirmed to IRIN the government is no longer letting Palestinians from Syria into Lebanon.
Makram Malaeb, program manager for the Syrian response at the Ministry of Social Affairs, said exceptions would be made for "humanitarian cases".
According to the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, more than 92,000 Palestinians from Syria have already sought refuge in Lebanon, joining the 455,000 Palestinian refugees hosted in Lebanon before the Syrian crisis, largely in overcrowded slums that have often been hotbeds of unrest.
Ahmed, 28, was living in Syria's Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees with his wife and three children when the conflict in Syria broke out. He told IRIN his story.
"I was displaced from my house six months ago after the shelling of Yarmouk. I had to move to several areas due to the fighting. One month ago, I checked on my house, and discovered I had lost my shop and house because of the shelling.
"On 3 August, I decided to send my family [to Lebanon] after my children started to suffer from war trauma. They had nightmares all the time and cried every time they heard an explosion. I sent them to join their cousins in Baalbek camp, while I waited for my travel documents to be renewed.
"I looked for a job, but couldn't find one. On 13 August, I decided to join my family after I lost everything in Syria. I went to the border.
"The journey between Lebanon and Syria is risky, not because there is shelling but because we have to bribe and face the Shabiha [pro-Assad Shia militia] all the time. I was traveling on a minibus with 16 other people. They could have arrested us at any moment if we didn't bribe them.
"We had to cross several checkpoints, and when we reached Syrian customs, I waited long hours and paid a bribe. Eventually, they allowed me to pass after interrogations on who I know and the purpose of my visit to Lebanon.
"When I crossed over to the Lebanese customs, I was surprised by the lines of Palestinians waiting to cross. We were pushed and beaten by customs officers. We were treated like animals by the General Security.
"The first day of my arrival [at the Lebanese border post], I had to wait in line to take my turn for more than 11 hours, and then I was sent back [to the Syrian border post]. We were told to stay [in no man's land] until they allowed us in, but nothing happened.
"During my two days at the border, I tried to bribe Lebanese security to enter. They were about to arrest me for offering a bribe, but I did it because I wanted to find a solution for my family, scattered between Lebanon and Syrian.
"After waiting for two days, I lost hope of entering Lebanon and decided to return to Syria. I went back to Damascus, where I'm now living in the entrance of a school in a small kiosk at the main gate. I'm waiting for my family to return - to live and die in dignity rather than being humiliated by Lebanese customs. I call them every day asking them to return, but they refuse. If just to enter Lebanon, all this happened to me, how I can live and raise my children in such a country?
"First we were refugees in Syria, and now we are seeking refuge in Lebanon. Like many other Palestinians, I feel we are double refugees."
Since August 6, according to Human Rights Watch, the Lebanese government has turned back Palestinians who had originally sought refuge in Syria when they were forced from their homes in 1948 and 1967, and are now fleeing once more with their descendants, this time from the conflict in Syria.
A source at the Lebanese General Security confirmed to IRIN the government is no longer letting Palestinians from Syria into Lebanon.
Makram Malaeb, program manager for the Syrian response at the Ministry of Social Affairs, said exceptions would be made for "humanitarian cases".
According to the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, more than 92,000 Palestinians from Syria have already sought refuge in Lebanon, joining the 455,000 Palestinian refugees hosted in Lebanon before the Syrian crisis, largely in overcrowded slums that have often been hotbeds of unrest.
Ahmed, 28, was living in Syria's Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees with his wife and three children when the conflict in Syria broke out. He told IRIN his story.
"I was displaced from my house six months ago after the shelling of Yarmouk. I had to move to several areas due to the fighting. One month ago, I checked on my house, and discovered I had lost my shop and house because of the shelling.
"On 3 August, I decided to send my family [to Lebanon] after my children started to suffer from war trauma. They had nightmares all the time and cried every time they heard an explosion. I sent them to join their cousins in Baalbek camp, while I waited for my travel documents to be renewed.
"I looked for a job, but couldn't find one. On 13 August, I decided to join my family after I lost everything in Syria. I went to the border.
"The journey between Lebanon and Syria is risky, not because there is shelling but because we have to bribe and face the Shabiha [pro-Assad Shia militia] all the time. I was traveling on a minibus with 16 other people. They could have arrested us at any moment if we didn't bribe them.
"We had to cross several checkpoints, and when we reached Syrian customs, I waited long hours and paid a bribe. Eventually, they allowed me to pass after interrogations on who I know and the purpose of my visit to Lebanon.
"When I crossed over to the Lebanese customs, I was surprised by the lines of Palestinians waiting to cross. We were pushed and beaten by customs officers. We were treated like animals by the General Security.
"The first day of my arrival [at the Lebanese border post], I had to wait in line to take my turn for more than 11 hours, and then I was sent back [to the Syrian border post]. We were told to stay [in no man's land] until they allowed us in, but nothing happened.
"During my two days at the border, I tried to bribe Lebanese security to enter. They were about to arrest me for offering a bribe, but I did it because I wanted to find a solution for my family, scattered between Lebanon and Syrian.
"After waiting for two days, I lost hope of entering Lebanon and decided to return to Syria. I went back to Damascus, where I'm now living in the entrance of a school in a small kiosk at the main gate. I'm waiting for my family to return - to live and die in dignity rather than being humiliated by Lebanese customs. I call them every day asking them to return, but they refuse. If just to enter Lebanon, all this happened to me, how I can live and raise my children in such a country?
"First we were refugees in Syria, and now we are seeking refuge in Lebanon. Like many other Palestinians, I feel we are double refugees."
30 aug 2013
The European al-Wafa' Campaign to help Syrian victims said that it has almost completed arrangements for its second aid convoy to deliver much needed aid to refugee camps in Syria. The organisation said that this convoy is a follow up of a previous one, four months ago. The aid will be transported to the port in Beirut, from where it be transported to the Lebanese Syrian borders ready to be transported into Syria. The aid convoy will start its journey on Monday 2 September, according to a statement by the organisation on Friday.
The statement added that the aid comprises 24 containers loaded with food, child milk and cloths, as well as kitchens for make shift camps that accommodate people displaced because of the crisis and is carried by 12 lorries.
The organisers said that the aid will be distributed to all those in refugee camps, both Palestinians and Syrians.
The statement added that the aid comprises 24 containers loaded with food, child milk and cloths, as well as kitchens for make shift camps that accommodate people displaced because of the crisis and is carried by 12 lorries.
The organisers said that the aid will be distributed to all those in refugee camps, both Palestinians and Syrians.
29 aug 2013
Palestinian national and Islamic factions and popular committees have disowned on Thursday PA president Mahmoud Abbas' statement in which he waived the right of return. Different Palestinian national and Islamic bodies organized a sit-in outside the PLO Department of Refugee Affairs headquarters northern Gaza Strip, where they stressed their adherence to the right of return.
The participants held banners reading "the right of return is a sacred right, individually and collectively, under which there is no statute of limitations".
Head of the Popular Committee for Refugees Affairs in northern Gaza stated that waiving the right of return is a betrayal to the Palestinian cause and people.
He stressed that the Palestinian people are not committed to any agreement signed by Abbas in which he waives their legitimate rights. The continued negotiations with the occupier are only a waste of time and effort, he added.
Abbas and his negotiating team do not represent anyone of the Palestinian people, he said, calling on the PLO to bear its responsibilities towards the Palestinian right of return.
The participants held banners reading "the right of return is a sacred right, individually and collectively, under which there is no statute of limitations".
Head of the Popular Committee for Refugees Affairs in northern Gaza stated that waiving the right of return is a betrayal to the Palestinian cause and people.
He stressed that the Palestinian people are not committed to any agreement signed by Abbas in which he waives their legitimate rights. The continued negotiations with the occupier are only a waste of time and effort, he added.
Abbas and his negotiating team do not represent anyone of the Palestinian people, he said, calling on the PLO to bear its responsibilities towards the Palestinian right of return.
28 aug 2013
The action group for the Palestinians in Syria said that the tight blockade imposed by the Syrian regime army on Al-Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus has aggravated the humanitarian situation there. The action group stated that the Palestinian refugees in the camp resorted to living primitively in order to survive.
In addition to the acute shortage of food and medical supplies, the electricity has been cut to the camp for about four months and there are no cooking gas, kerosene, diesel and gasoline, the action group added.
It also confirmed the fall of some projectiles on Tuesday on different areas of the camp with no reported casualties.
In addition to the acute shortage of food and medical supplies, the electricity has been cut to the camp for about four months and there are no cooking gas, kerosene, diesel and gasoline, the action group added.
It also confirmed the fall of some projectiles on Tuesday on different areas of the camp with no reported casualties.
Four Palestinian refugees were killed Tuesday in the ongoing clashes in Syria, a Palestinian group said.
The Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said in a statement that Mir’i Muhammad died shortly after he sustained critical wounds by shrapnel from a shell which landed near Abu Siyam Bakery in the Yarmouk refugee camp.
The other three were Palestinian fighters affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command who joined Syrian regime troops in a battle in Sayyida Zeinab refugee camp against the Free Army rebels. The statement identified the victims as Mahmoud Muhammad Thahir, Tariq Muhammad al-Khatib and Salih Hussein al-Sharqi.
According to the report, clashes with light weapons broke out in several battlegrounds in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus between the Syrian army and the rebels. Simultaneously, a shell landed in al-Jaouna Street in the camp leaving several people lightly injured.
The Huseiniyya refugee camp was hit by several shells in different areas causing material damage, but no human casualties. The camp has been besieged by Syrian regime forces for months causing a serious humanitarian crisis. Residents who remained in the camp say they suffer serious shortages in foods and medicines. Electricity networks and telecommunications were down in the camp for several weeks, according to the report.
Sbeina refugee camp south of Damascus was hit by shells overnight Tuesday in tandem with clashes in different areas across the camp between the Syrian regime forces and the Free Army rebels. The statement by the Workforce for Palestinians in Syria highlighted that a fire erupted in an apartment as a result of a shell which hit the apartment overnight. The Syrian regime forces have been attempting to break into the camp for a week. Meanwhile, residents complained that Free Army rebels robbed several houses and stores.
The Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said in a statement that Mir’i Muhammad died shortly after he sustained critical wounds by shrapnel from a shell which landed near Abu Siyam Bakery in the Yarmouk refugee camp.
The other three were Palestinian fighters affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command who joined Syrian regime troops in a battle in Sayyida Zeinab refugee camp against the Free Army rebels. The statement identified the victims as Mahmoud Muhammad Thahir, Tariq Muhammad al-Khatib and Salih Hussein al-Sharqi.
According to the report, clashes with light weapons broke out in several battlegrounds in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus between the Syrian army and the rebels. Simultaneously, a shell landed in al-Jaouna Street in the camp leaving several people lightly injured.
The Huseiniyya refugee camp was hit by several shells in different areas causing material damage, but no human casualties. The camp has been besieged by Syrian regime forces for months causing a serious humanitarian crisis. Residents who remained in the camp say they suffer serious shortages in foods and medicines. Electricity networks and telecommunications were down in the camp for several weeks, according to the report.
Sbeina refugee camp south of Damascus was hit by shells overnight Tuesday in tandem with clashes in different areas across the camp between the Syrian regime forces and the Free Army rebels. The statement by the Workforce for Palestinians in Syria highlighted that a fire erupted in an apartment as a result of a shell which hit the apartment overnight. The Syrian regime forces have been attempting to break into the camp for a week. Meanwhile, residents complained that Free Army rebels robbed several houses and stores.
27 aug 2013
The refugees’ department in Hamas movement warned that anyone surrendering the Palestinian refugees’ right of return (RoR) should stand trial for high treason. The department said in a press release on Tuesday that remaining silent toward PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s declared intention to give up RoR was a “crime”.
It said that Abbas told a delegation of the Israeli Meretz party last Thursday that he would agree to the cancellation of the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to Yaffa, Akka, and Safad, which practically means a surrender of RoR.
“This points to the direction of the negotiations,” the department said, adding that negotiations would not return rights to Palestinians but rather would support occupation and its claims.
It said that in the event such renunciation was made then punishment for high treason would be inflicted on all those involved.
The Palestinian people did not authorize anyone to give up its rights, it said, asking the PLO to clarify its position vis-à-vis those who renounce RoR.
It said that Abbas told a delegation of the Israeli Meretz party last Thursday that he would agree to the cancellation of the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to Yaffa, Akka, and Safad, which practically means a surrender of RoR.
“This points to the direction of the negotiations,” the department said, adding that negotiations would not return rights to Palestinians but rather would support occupation and its claims.
It said that in the event such renunciation was made then punishment for high treason would be inflicted on all those involved.
The Palestinian people did not authorize anyone to give up its rights, it said, asking the PLO to clarify its position vis-à-vis those who renounce RoR.
26 aug 2013
Statement by Chris Gunness UNRWA Spokesman
Jerusalem 26 August 2013
UNRWA deeply regrets to confirm that one of its staff members, a 34-year-old father of four, was shot dead by Israeli forces and killed instantly in an operation in Kalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank at approximately seven o'clock this morning.
Credible reports say that he was on his way to work and was not engaged in any violent activity. He was shot in the chest. Another UNRWA staff member, a sanitation laborer, was shot in the leg during the same operation and is in a stable condition. An UNRWA investigation is ongoing.
Today’s killing took place during an incursion into Kalandia refugee camp during which three people in total were killed and about twenty injured, some of them seriously.
UNRWA condemns the killing of its staff member and calls on all sides, at this delicate time, to exercise maximum restraint and to act in accordance with obligations under international law.
UNRWA deeply regrets to confirm that one of its staff members, a 34-year-old father of four, was shot dead by Israeli forces and killed instantly in an operation in Kalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank at approximately seven o'clock this morning.
Credible reports say that he was on his way to work and was not engaged in any violent activity. He was shot in the chest. Another UNRWA staff member, a sanitation laborer, was shot in the leg during the same operation and is in a stable condition. An UNRWA investigation is ongoing.
Today’s killing took place during an incursion into Kalandia refugee camp during which three people in total were killed and about twenty injured, some of them seriously.
UNRWA condemns the killing of its staff member and calls on all sides, at this delicate time, to exercise maximum restraint and to act in accordance with obligations under international law.
Jerusalem 26 August 2013
UNRWA deeply regrets to confirm that one of its staff members, a 34-year-old father of four, was shot dead by Israeli forces and killed instantly in an operation in Kalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank at approximately seven o'clock this morning.
Credible reports say that he was on his way to work and was not engaged in any violent activity. He was shot in the chest. Another UNRWA staff member, a sanitation laborer, was shot in the leg during the same operation and is in a stable condition. An UNRWA investigation is ongoing.
Today’s killing took place during an incursion into Kalandia refugee camp during which three people in total were killed and about twenty injured, some of them seriously.
UNRWA condemns the killing of its staff member and calls on all sides, at this delicate time, to exercise maximum restraint and to act in accordance with obligations under international law.
UNRWA deeply regrets to confirm that one of its staff members, a 34-year-old father of four, was shot dead by Israeli forces and killed instantly in an operation in Kalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank at approximately seven o'clock this morning.
Credible reports say that he was on his way to work and was not engaged in any violent activity. He was shot in the chest. Another UNRWA staff member, a sanitation laborer, was shot in the leg during the same operation and is in a stable condition. An UNRWA investigation is ongoing.
Today’s killing took place during an incursion into Kalandia refugee camp during which three people in total were killed and about twenty injured, some of them seriously.
UNRWA condemns the killing of its staff member and calls on all sides, at this delicate time, to exercise maximum restraint and to act in accordance with obligations under international law.
A national campaign launched by Hamas to defend the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon appealed to all Lebanese parties involved in inciting hatred against the Palestinians to stop their smear campaign and accusing others without evidence. The campaign, which was launched by Hamas a few weeks ago, stated on Monday that any accusation against others must be based on clear evidence and reliable official statements.
The campaign warned that the persistence of some Lebanese political, security and media figures in their blind incitement against the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon would adversely affect the relationship between the two countries.
It stressed that such irresponsible attitude by some individuals would lead to igniting tension between the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples and fuel sectarian conflicts in the Lebanese arena.
It also called on the Lebanese leadership and all influential groups in the country to intervene to end the incitement campaign against the Palestinians in Lebanon and oblige all instigators to respect the human rights of others and abide by the law.
The campaign warned that the persistence of some Lebanese political, security and media figures in their blind incitement against the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon would adversely affect the relationship between the two countries.
It stressed that such irresponsible attitude by some individuals would lead to igniting tension between the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples and fuel sectarian conflicts in the Lebanese arena.
It also called on the Lebanese leadership and all influential groups in the country to intervene to end the incitement campaign against the Palestinians in Lebanon and oblige all instigators to respect the human rights of others and abide by the law.
24 aug 2013
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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) strongly criticized the Israeli film, “Camp Jihad,” for alleging that UNRWA promoted anti-Semitism and incitement to violence in its summer camps, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said in a statement.
Describing what came in the film as “false accusations” and “grossly misleading,” UNRWA said it has conducted “a lengthy and detailed investigation into the film and we categorically reject the allegations it contains.” It said allegations that the summer camp portrayed in the film was run by UNRWA were false and people interviewed the film-maker has claimed to be UNRWA staff were not. |
Gunness accused the Israeli film-maker as having malicious intentions against UNRWA saying he “has a history of making baseless claims about UNRWA, all of which we have investigated and demonstrated to be patently false.”
“It has long been the practice of the film-maker to show non-UNRWA activities and portray them as activities of UNRWA. He has done this again and we again reject his allegations. Our repeated rejection of his falsehoods is a matter of public record,” he said.
“It has long been the practice of the film-maker to show non-UNRWA activities and portray them as activities of UNRWA. He has done this again and we again reject his allegations. Our repeated rejection of his falsehoods is a matter of public record,” he said.
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At least 31 Palestinians were among the victims of an alleged chemical attack said to have killed hundreds in Damascus on Wednesday, relatives said Saturday.
Opponents of Bashar Assad said the Syrian president's forces used chemical weapons east and southwest of Damascus in attacks Wednesday that killed hundreds. The regime has strongly denied the accusations. Eleven members of the al-Hurani family, from Jenin in the northern West Bank, were killed in "the massacre in Ghouta," including six children, family member Abu Zeid al-Hurani told Ma'an. "The family received calamitous news from its members in Syria confirming that 11 were killed in the attack by poisonous chemical gas," another relative in Jenin, Hasan al-Hurani, told Ma'an. |
He identified the victims as Thahir Abu Zeid, 75, his wife Fathiyya, 70, their daughter Samar, 30, their son Yahya Thahir Abu Zeid, 33, and his wife Nisreen, 25, as well as six grandchildren aged between three and seven.
The family had moved to Syria in 1967 and lived in the Damascus suburb of Jobar. After the civil war broke out, they moved to an agricultural area in Ghouta hoping it would be safe as it had not previously witnessed any fighting, Hasan al-Hurani said.
He said the al-Hurani family in Jenin had difficulties contacting their relatives in Syria, but were eventually able to reach Tariq al-Hurani, who notified them of the deaths.
Tariq al-Hurani said 20 members of a Palestinian family from Nazareth were also killed in Ghouta on Wednesday.
UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane arrived in Syria's capital Saturday for talks aimed at establishing the terms of an inquiry into alleged chemical weapons attacks, an AFP journalist said.
Kane's visit comes after UN chief Ban Ki-moon handed her the task and called for Syria's regime and its opponents to cooperate in the UN efforts to establish an investigation into Wednesday's attacks.
Harrowing footage released by activists showing unconscious children, people foaming around the mouth and doctors apparently giving them oxygen has triggered revulsion around the world.
So far, the government in Damascus has not said whether it will let the inspectors visit the sites.
The Coalition says more than 1,300 people were killed in gas attacks southwest and east of the capital.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad's rule flared in March 2011, while millions more have fled the country or been internally displaced.
The family had moved to Syria in 1967 and lived in the Damascus suburb of Jobar. After the civil war broke out, they moved to an agricultural area in Ghouta hoping it would be safe as it had not previously witnessed any fighting, Hasan al-Hurani said.
He said the al-Hurani family in Jenin had difficulties contacting their relatives in Syria, but were eventually able to reach Tariq al-Hurani, who notified them of the deaths.
Tariq al-Hurani said 20 members of a Palestinian family from Nazareth were also killed in Ghouta on Wednesday.
UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane arrived in Syria's capital Saturday for talks aimed at establishing the terms of an inquiry into alleged chemical weapons attacks, an AFP journalist said.
Kane's visit comes after UN chief Ban Ki-moon handed her the task and called for Syria's regime and its opponents to cooperate in the UN efforts to establish an investigation into Wednesday's attacks.
Harrowing footage released by activists showing unconscious children, people foaming around the mouth and doctors apparently giving them oxygen has triggered revulsion around the world.
So far, the government in Damascus has not said whether it will let the inspectors visit the sites.
The Coalition says more than 1,300 people were killed in gas attacks southwest and east of the capital.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad's rule flared in March 2011, while millions more have fled the country or been internally displaced.
23 aug 2013
During a meeting with members of the Israeli Meretz opposition Party, who visited him Thursday in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, stated that the Palestinian Authority will not demand the Palestinian return to Jaffa, Akka (Akko) and Safad.
He was referring to the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the refugees displaced during the creating of Israel in historic Palestine.
“I know how concerned you (the Israelis) are, therefore I want to make some issues clear”, Abbas said, “I assure you that following the end of successful peace talks, the conflict will be resolved, we will not demand to return to Jaffa, Akka and Safad”.
The statements of Abbas, who comes from a family of refugees displaced by the Israeli forces from Safad during the Nakba of 1948, received extensive Israeli media coverage.
Ohad Hamo of Israel’s TV Channel 2 stated that Abu Mazin (Abbas) “is a courageous man who wanted to put the Israelis at ease”.
Hamo said that Abbas’ statements are meant to boost direct peace talks with Israel in order to achieve a final status agreement.
Hamo further stated that, during his meeting with six Meretz members who visited him at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, Abbas said that he is not optimistic, but added that the Middle East “is burning, this is our only chance”, and that he [Abbas] believes a peace agreement within six months is possible.
President Abbas also criticized the Israeli Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Israel is wasting time, and is rejecting an “effective American mediation in the direct talks”.
“We only have six to nine months of talks, I wanted the two sides to meet every day, or every other day so that we can reach an agreement in time”, Abbas said, “But Israel rejected the entire idea; it also rejected any effective American intervention and mediation”.
On his part, Hamo said that Abbas received a promise from Meretz’ head Zahava Gal-On to support any agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinians, despite the fact that her party is not part of the government coalition.
It is worth mentioning that Meretz only has six seats at the Israeli Knesset.
According to figures by the United Nations, there are currently 7.1 Million Palestinian refugees; 6.6 Million Palestinians living in refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries, and around 427.000 internally displaced Palestinians (refugees who live in refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip”.
He was referring to the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the refugees displaced during the creating of Israel in historic Palestine.
“I know how concerned you (the Israelis) are, therefore I want to make some issues clear”, Abbas said, “I assure you that following the end of successful peace talks, the conflict will be resolved, we will not demand to return to Jaffa, Akka and Safad”.
The statements of Abbas, who comes from a family of refugees displaced by the Israeli forces from Safad during the Nakba of 1948, received extensive Israeli media coverage.
Ohad Hamo of Israel’s TV Channel 2 stated that Abu Mazin (Abbas) “is a courageous man who wanted to put the Israelis at ease”.
Hamo said that Abbas’ statements are meant to boost direct peace talks with Israel in order to achieve a final status agreement.
Hamo further stated that, during his meeting with six Meretz members who visited him at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, Abbas said that he is not optimistic, but added that the Middle East “is burning, this is our only chance”, and that he [Abbas] believes a peace agreement within six months is possible.
President Abbas also criticized the Israeli Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Israel is wasting time, and is rejecting an “effective American mediation in the direct talks”.
“We only have six to nine months of talks, I wanted the two sides to meet every day, or every other day so that we can reach an agreement in time”, Abbas said, “But Israel rejected the entire idea; it also rejected any effective American intervention and mediation”.
On his part, Hamo said that Abbas received a promise from Meretz’ head Zahava Gal-On to support any agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinians, despite the fact that her party is not part of the government coalition.
It is worth mentioning that Meretz only has six seats at the Israeli Knesset.
According to figures by the United Nations, there are currently 7.1 Million Palestinian refugees; 6.6 Million Palestinians living in refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries, and around 427.000 internally displaced Palestinians (refugees who live in refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip”.
21 aug 2013
Three Palestinian refugees were killed on Tuesday in clashes across Syria, a local group said.
Ammar Ammora was critically injured by shelling in the Moroccan neighborhood of Yarmouk camp and later died from his injuries, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said.
Abed Khader and Bilal Najib were also killed in Yarmouk.
Syrian regime forces and Free Syria Army fighters clashed near Yarmouk municipality and around Thirty Street and Palestine Street, with a UNRWA center in the camp severely damaged.
Daraa refugee camp was also targeted by the Syrian army, causing damage to several homes.
In Homs, Yasser Gharib, a refugee from the Galilee, was detained by Syria's army. Troops positioned at a checkpoint near Kafr Aya also arrested an unidentified teacher from al-Aedin refugee camp.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian taken hostage by Syrian rebels was released this week.
Engineer Ibrahim al-Hawwash was freed after Palestinian Authority officials and the ambassador to Turkey intervened.
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to neighboring Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
Ammar Ammora was critically injured by shelling in the Moroccan neighborhood of Yarmouk camp and later died from his injuries, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said.
Abed Khader and Bilal Najib were also killed in Yarmouk.
Syrian regime forces and Free Syria Army fighters clashed near Yarmouk municipality and around Thirty Street and Palestine Street, with a UNRWA center in the camp severely damaged.
Daraa refugee camp was also targeted by the Syrian army, causing damage to several homes.
In Homs, Yasser Gharib, a refugee from the Galilee, was detained by Syria's army. Troops positioned at a checkpoint near Kafr Aya also arrested an unidentified teacher from al-Aedin refugee camp.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian taken hostage by Syrian rebels was released this week.
Engineer Ibrahim al-Hawwash was freed after Palestinian Authority officials and the ambassador to Turkey intervened.
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to neighboring Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
20 aug 2013
AICafe invite you on Tuesday 20 August 2013 from 7.30 p.m. for a presentation and discussion about Palestinian refugees and UN resolution 181 with Ahmad al Azzeh.
Palestinian refugees and internally displaced Palestinians represent the largest and longest-standing case of forced displacement in the world today. Some two out of every five refugees in the world today are Palestinian, and it is estimated that there are currently 7 million Palestinian refugees and IDPs.
The rights of Palestinian refugees is a core topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. International law and UN resolutions provide clear guidelines concerning the rights of Palestinian refugees to come home. UN Resolution 181, the resolution most commonly known for the "partition plan" of Palestine, has crucial directions concerning the issue refugees. How should Resolution 181 be understood and most importantly leveraged to help bring Palestinian refugees home?
Ahmad al Azzeh, a Palestinian refugee and resident of Bethlehem's Al-Azzeh refugee camp, is the Activities Coordinator of the Holy Land Trust. Al Azzeh has conducted research on the issue of Palestinian refugees and UN resolutions, with a focus on Resolution 181.
Join to learn about this core issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict!
The AIC is a joint Palestinian-Israeli activist organization engaged in dissemination of information, political advocacy and grassroots activism. The AICafè is a political and cultural café open on Tuesday and Saturday night from 7pm until 10pm. It is located in the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour, close to Suq Sha'ab (follow the sign to Jadal Center). We have a small library with novels, political books and magazines. We also have a number of films in DVD copies and AIC publications which critically analyze both the Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the conflict itself.
Palestinian refugees and internally displaced Palestinians represent the largest and longest-standing case of forced displacement in the world today. Some two out of every five refugees in the world today are Palestinian, and it is estimated that there are currently 7 million Palestinian refugees and IDPs.
The rights of Palestinian refugees is a core topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. International law and UN resolutions provide clear guidelines concerning the rights of Palestinian refugees to come home. UN Resolution 181, the resolution most commonly known for the "partition plan" of Palestine, has crucial directions concerning the issue refugees. How should Resolution 181 be understood and most importantly leveraged to help bring Palestinian refugees home?
Ahmad al Azzeh, a Palestinian refugee and resident of Bethlehem's Al-Azzeh refugee camp, is the Activities Coordinator of the Holy Land Trust. Al Azzeh has conducted research on the issue of Palestinian refugees and UN resolutions, with a focus on Resolution 181.
Join to learn about this core issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict!
The AIC is a joint Palestinian-Israeli activist organization engaged in dissemination of information, political advocacy and grassroots activism. The AICafè is a political and cultural café open on Tuesday and Saturday night from 7pm until 10pm. It is located in the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour, close to Suq Sha'ab (follow the sign to Jadal Center). We have a small library with novels, political books and magazines. We also have a number of films in DVD copies and AIC publications which critically analyze both the Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the conflict itself.
13 aug 2013
A local group in Syria on Tuesday announced the death of a Palestinian refugee in the country, after being wounded in clashes earlier this week.
Sameer Mahmoud Nassar was seriously injured when Khan al-Sheikh refugee camp was hit by missiles fired by Syrian regime forces, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said.
Several people were injured in the incident, which caused widespread material damage to the camp.
Both Deraa and al-Hasiniye refugee camps were also damaged in reported shelling by Syrian government forces, the group said.
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to neighboring Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
Sameer Mahmoud Nassar was seriously injured when Khan al-Sheikh refugee camp was hit by missiles fired by Syrian regime forces, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said.
Several people were injured in the incident, which caused widespread material damage to the camp.
Both Deraa and al-Hasiniye refugee camps were also damaged in reported shelling by Syrian government forces, the group said.
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to neighboring Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
12 aug 2013
A Palestinian refugee was killed on Monday from Khan Danon Refugee camp in Syria, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said. Khaled Fares, the Palestinian youth was killed during the continuous shelling on the camp by the Syrian regime army, it reported.
The group added the regime bombed the Yarmouk refugee camp by rockets during clashes with fighters of the Free Syrian Army causing several substantial damages and destruction of several houses.
The regime army is still blockading Yarmouk, preventing people from leaving or entering it, the group added. There are severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel, and electricity blackouts are common.
In June, UNRWA's commissioner general described Palestinian refugee camps in Syria as "theaters of war."
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
The group added the regime bombed the Yarmouk refugee camp by rockets during clashes with fighters of the Free Syrian Army causing several substantial damages and destruction of several houses.
The regime army is still blockading Yarmouk, preventing people from leaving or entering it, the group added. There are severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel, and electricity blackouts are common.
In June, UNRWA's commissioner general described Palestinian refugee camps in Syria as "theaters of war."
More than half of the 530,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria have been displaced and 15 percent have fled abroad, including 60,000 to Lebanon and over 7,000 to Jordan.
In March, the Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
11 aug 2013
The refugee affairs department of the Hamas Movement appealed to the Lebanese authorities to deal with the Palestinian refugee fleeing the Syrian war on humanitarian grounds. "While we recognize the political Lebanese fears related to the issue of the Palestinian presence, we appeal to the Lebanese authorities to deal with the issue of the Syria's Palestinian humanly and not politically" the refugee affairs department stated in a press release.
It called on the Lebanese authorities to arrange the entry of the Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria to Lebanon under the supervision of the UNRWA and the Palestinian factions, so as to ensure their safety and their presence in Lebanon temporarily due to the internal events in Syria.
It also hailed the humanitarian efforts made by the UNRWA and other relief groups to secure the needs of the displaced Palestinian refugees.
It called on the Lebanese authorities to arrange the entry of the Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria to Lebanon under the supervision of the UNRWA and the Palestinian factions, so as to ensure their safety and their presence in Lebanon temporarily due to the internal events in Syria.
It also hailed the humanitarian efforts made by the UNRWA and other relief groups to secure the needs of the displaced Palestinian refugees.
10 aug 2013
A Palestinian human rights organization, concerned with the Palestinian refugees' affairs in Lebanon, condemned the Lebanese authorities' decision to ban the Palestinian refugees' entry from Syria to Lebanon. The Palestinian human rights foundation “Rasd” said in a statement that the Lebanese authorities have banned on August 6, 2013 the entry of Palestinian refugees, fleeing from Syria due to the ongoing bloody conflict, to Lebanon.
The foundation considered the Lebanese decision a violation of the Lebanese international commitments, pointing out that dozens of families are stuck on the Lebanese borders including children and elderly.
The human rights foundation called on the Lebanese authorities to cancel its decision to prevent the Palestinian refugees' entry to Lebanon on humanitarian grounds.
International law places obligations on Lebanon when deporting individuals who may face the risk of death, the foundation said.
Rasd called on Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and all Lebanese decision-makers to intervene immediately to end the plight of the Palestinian refugees fleeing from Syria.
The foundation expressed its surprise towards the Palestinian Authority and embassy's silence towards the suffering of the Palestinian refugees on the Lebanese borders, calling for urgent and effective moves to end their plight.
The foundation considered the Lebanese decision a violation of the Lebanese international commitments, pointing out that dozens of families are stuck on the Lebanese borders including children and elderly.
The human rights foundation called on the Lebanese authorities to cancel its decision to prevent the Palestinian refugees' entry to Lebanon on humanitarian grounds.
International law places obligations on Lebanon when deporting individuals who may face the risk of death, the foundation said.
Rasd called on Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and all Lebanese decision-makers to intervene immediately to end the plight of the Palestinian refugees fleeing from Syria.
The foundation expressed its surprise towards the Palestinian Authority and embassy's silence towards the suffering of the Palestinian refugees on the Lebanese borders, calling for urgent and effective moves to end their plight.
8 aug 2013
Hamas representative in Lebanon Ali Baraka has made contacts with the Director General of Information Affairs in the Lebanese General Security Services concerning the news about the Lebanese ban on Palestinian refugees' entry from Syria to Lebanon. The Director General of Information Affairs, Minah Sawaya, denied any Lebanese decision to prevent Palestinian refugees' entry from Syria to Lebanon.
For his part, Baraka called on the chief of the Lebanese security services to facilitate the entry of Palestinians fleeing from Syria to Lebanon on the eve of Eid Fitr on humanitarian grounds.
For his part, Baraka called on the chief of the Lebanese security services to facilitate the entry of Palestinians fleeing from Syria to Lebanon on the eve of Eid Fitr on humanitarian grounds.
5 aug 2013
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Heavy fighting has continued unabated in Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, where fighters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine along with other Palestinian factions have confronted foreign-backed militants. As both sides strive to gain more ground, the camp sees more destruction. |
2 aug 2013
Hamas movement confirmed its support for the peaceful protests which demand the URNWA to continue providing services for the residents of Nahr al-Bared camp. Hamas's office for Refugee affairs in Lebanon called, in a statement on Thursday, on the UNRWA administration to meet the demands of the refugees in Nahr al-Bared camp and not to take decisions that would negatively affect the humanitarian situation and the living conditions in the camp.
The office said the UNRWA administration is directly responsible for providing the necessary funding to pay for its budget deficit, without holding the Palestinian refugees the outcome of this deficit.
It also urged the donor countries to pay the remaining of the budgets for the reconstruction of Nahr al-Bared, in order to support and aid the refugees and avoid an aggravation of the humanitarian crisis in the camp.
The office said the UNRWA administration is directly responsible for providing the necessary funding to pay for its budget deficit, without holding the Palestinian refugees the outcome of this deficit.
It also urged the donor countries to pay the remaining of the budgets for the reconstruction of Nahr al-Bared, in order to support and aid the refugees and avoid an aggravation of the humanitarian crisis in the camp.
