6 june 2014
By Al-Shabaka
Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law.
This policy brief is authored by Ahmad Diab, a Palestinian writer and Fulbright scholar currently working on his PhD at New York University. His interests lie in the intersection between literature, film, and power structures.
If Joseph Conrad was right when he said that we live as we dream, alone, then an inverse of that statement might carry some truth as well. Unlike life and dreams, death and nightmares can be communal, as Syrian Palestinians have discovered.
The fortunate among them can now look from their Facebook balconies into the heart of darkness that they barely escaped. If they look long enough, they might just catch a glimpse of the horror of those stuck behind. The fragmentation of the Palestinian people has meant that their suffering, while ultimately collective, remains unique to the context in which it is experienced.
***
I used to dream of having a homeland and now I dream of the camp
I used to dream of having a bigger house, and now I dream of a cheap room to rent.
I used to dream of taking a relaxing vacation, and now I wish I could simply be reunited with my children and family.
I used to have my own business, and now I pointlessly look for a job.
I used to dream of the future, and now I yearn for one day of the past.
I used to dream of having a stable life, and now I dream of having a stable death as there are not enough graves for us.
I used to dream, now I am dreamless (...)
- Mohammed Zeidan Abu Jihad
***
Before it was a Palestinian refugee camp, Yarmouk was long known as the battle that consolidated Syria under Arab rule after the landmark defeat of the Byzantine Empire in 636 CE. From now on, however, it will be remembered as a site of disintegration where one of the longest and tightest sieges in the course of the Syrian uprising-turned civil war is taking place -- a siege that has so far seen some 160,000 of its Palestinian residents flee and the remaining 17,000-20,000 face starvation or death from illness or injury.
Yarmouk now stands between Tel al-Zaatar -- the Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut besieged and then assaulted by Syrian-backed, right-wing Lebanese militias in 1976 -- and the next barrel bomb attack on Palestinian communities in Syria.
The harrowing state of siege, preventing food and medical supplies from getting in and people from getting out, prompted the spokesperson for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, an otherwise ardently apolitical institution, to wax revolutionary: "The lexicon of man's inhumanity to man has a new word: it's Yarmouk. It's a place where UN-assisted communities are facing starvation (...) where the elderly, the sick, the dying, infants are being forced to eat animal feed in the capital city of a UN member state in the 21st century as a matter of political choice."
Indeed, since the first week of July 2013, Yarmouk residents have not had access [PDF] to the basic necessities of life. Anyone who attempts to break the siege is usually gunned down. Those who are wounded are left to die because they are not allowed to exit the camp to receive critical medical treatment. Conservative estimates reveal that at least 194 civilians have lost their lives, 128 of whom, babies and the elderly among them, have starved to death under catastrophic conditions.
Many residents have been arrested, tortured, and subjected to forced disappearance by Syrian military forces and other pro-government groups, like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Reduced to scavenging in desperation to stay alive, Yarmouk residents have turned to boiling grass and eating cat and dog meat as a final resort while awaiting the increasingly Oslo-esque elusive settlement between representatives of the Syrian government and opposition forces.
Local Palestinian activists blame [PDF] the Syrian regime and its Palestinian allies, represented mainly by the PFLP-GC, for the siege and many of the atrocities committed since the beginning of the uprising.
Two tragedies in particular marked the beginning of the end of Yarmouk's united position of neutrality vis-à-vis the Syrian government and the uprising in general: Popular marches, in the summer of 2011, to the Occupied Golan Heights at the “border” of Israel on the occasions of Al-Nakba, or "The Cataclysm," in which some 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homeland upon the creation of Israel in 1948, and Al-Naksa, or "The Setback," the second mass displacement of Palestinians from their homeland, which accompanied the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
In both cases, the regime, at that time desperate to gain traction in the growing uprising against it, encouraged the demonstrations and facilitated access to the border by removing checkpoints and even providing transportation to the border on Naksa Day. Yet, at their time of greatest need, when the Israeli military unleashed lethal firepower against the unarmed protestors, killing 26 of them, the Syrian authorities and the Palestinian factions that promoted the demonstrations were nowhere to be found.
Activists also hold the regime responsible for the aerial bombardment and systematic destruction of large areas of their camp, which resulted in a number of civilian deaths in December of 2012. Neither do they absolve certain Free Syrian Army factions, who forcibly entered the camp following the bombardment and proceeded to seize private homes and hospitals and abuse the residents. From day one, FSA fighters showed almost complete disregard for the authority structures of Yarmouk, and, in particular, showed no deference for its carefully calculated position.
Anger was also directed at the Palestine Liberation Organization/Palestinian Authority for not doing enough to support the residents of Yarmouk, who faced daily shelling and rapidly diminishing food and medical supplies, all signs of the impending siege. These feelings were exacerbated by the news that the PLO/PA's efforts to negotiate a settlement between government and opposition forces reportedly displayed more concern over the fate of Assad than besieged Palestinians, thus outweighing its efforts to lift the siege or assuage the suffering of those Syrian Palestinians unable to obtain travel visas to countries where the PA has diplomatic representation.
The Syrian rites of return to politics
Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law.
This policy brief is authored by Ahmad Diab, a Palestinian writer and Fulbright scholar currently working on his PhD at New York University. His interests lie in the intersection between literature, film, and power structures.
If Joseph Conrad was right when he said that we live as we dream, alone, then an inverse of that statement might carry some truth as well. Unlike life and dreams, death and nightmares can be communal, as Syrian Palestinians have discovered.
The fortunate among them can now look from their Facebook balconies into the heart of darkness that they barely escaped. If they look long enough, they might just catch a glimpse of the horror of those stuck behind. The fragmentation of the Palestinian people has meant that their suffering, while ultimately collective, remains unique to the context in which it is experienced.
***
I used to dream of having a homeland and now I dream of the camp
I used to dream of having a bigger house, and now I dream of a cheap room to rent.
I used to dream of taking a relaxing vacation, and now I wish I could simply be reunited with my children and family.
I used to have my own business, and now I pointlessly look for a job.
I used to dream of the future, and now I yearn for one day of the past.
I used to dream of having a stable life, and now I dream of having a stable death as there are not enough graves for us.
I used to dream, now I am dreamless (...)
- Mohammed Zeidan Abu Jihad
***
Before it was a Palestinian refugee camp, Yarmouk was long known as the battle that consolidated Syria under Arab rule after the landmark defeat of the Byzantine Empire in 636 CE. From now on, however, it will be remembered as a site of disintegration where one of the longest and tightest sieges in the course of the Syrian uprising-turned civil war is taking place -- a siege that has so far seen some 160,000 of its Palestinian residents flee and the remaining 17,000-20,000 face starvation or death from illness or injury.
Yarmouk now stands between Tel al-Zaatar -- the Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut besieged and then assaulted by Syrian-backed, right-wing Lebanese militias in 1976 -- and the next barrel bomb attack on Palestinian communities in Syria.
The harrowing state of siege, preventing food and medical supplies from getting in and people from getting out, prompted the spokesperson for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, an otherwise ardently apolitical institution, to wax revolutionary: "The lexicon of man's inhumanity to man has a new word: it's Yarmouk. It's a place where UN-assisted communities are facing starvation (...) where the elderly, the sick, the dying, infants are being forced to eat animal feed in the capital city of a UN member state in the 21st century as a matter of political choice."
Indeed, since the first week of July 2013, Yarmouk residents have not had access [PDF] to the basic necessities of life. Anyone who attempts to break the siege is usually gunned down. Those who are wounded are left to die because they are not allowed to exit the camp to receive critical medical treatment. Conservative estimates reveal that at least 194 civilians have lost their lives, 128 of whom, babies and the elderly among them, have starved to death under catastrophic conditions.
Many residents have been arrested, tortured, and subjected to forced disappearance by Syrian military forces and other pro-government groups, like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Reduced to scavenging in desperation to stay alive, Yarmouk residents have turned to boiling grass and eating cat and dog meat as a final resort while awaiting the increasingly Oslo-esque elusive settlement between representatives of the Syrian government and opposition forces.
Local Palestinian activists blame [PDF] the Syrian regime and its Palestinian allies, represented mainly by the PFLP-GC, for the siege and many of the atrocities committed since the beginning of the uprising.
Two tragedies in particular marked the beginning of the end of Yarmouk's united position of neutrality vis-à-vis the Syrian government and the uprising in general: Popular marches, in the summer of 2011, to the Occupied Golan Heights at the “border” of Israel on the occasions of Al-Nakba, or "The Cataclysm," in which some 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homeland upon the creation of Israel in 1948, and Al-Naksa, or "The Setback," the second mass displacement of Palestinians from their homeland, which accompanied the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
In both cases, the regime, at that time desperate to gain traction in the growing uprising against it, encouraged the demonstrations and facilitated access to the border by removing checkpoints and even providing transportation to the border on Naksa Day. Yet, at their time of greatest need, when the Israeli military unleashed lethal firepower against the unarmed protestors, killing 26 of them, the Syrian authorities and the Palestinian factions that promoted the demonstrations were nowhere to be found.
Activists also hold the regime responsible for the aerial bombardment and systematic destruction of large areas of their camp, which resulted in a number of civilian deaths in December of 2012. Neither do they absolve certain Free Syrian Army factions, who forcibly entered the camp following the bombardment and proceeded to seize private homes and hospitals and abuse the residents. From day one, FSA fighters showed almost complete disregard for the authority structures of Yarmouk, and, in particular, showed no deference for its carefully calculated position.
Anger was also directed at the Palestine Liberation Organization/Palestinian Authority for not doing enough to support the residents of Yarmouk, who faced daily shelling and rapidly diminishing food and medical supplies, all signs of the impending siege. These feelings were exacerbated by the news that the PLO/PA's efforts to negotiate a settlement between government and opposition forces reportedly displayed more concern over the fate of Assad than besieged Palestinians, thus outweighing its efforts to lift the siege or assuage the suffering of those Syrian Palestinians unable to obtain travel visas to countries where the PA has diplomatic representation.
The Syrian rites of return to politics
Palestinian Hadia al-Fut holds a picture of her Syrian husband, killing in fighting in Yarmouk in late 2013
When a Syrian gave Palestinians the name for the most traumatic cataclysm in their modern history -- Al-Nakba -- it was an act of rational empathetic contemplation. Today, the Syrian nakba has dictated the painful acknowledgement of several conceptual causalities that can be added to the colossal human loss.
During the long Baath years, when Syria "championed" the Palestinian cause, Palestinian Syrians were never allowed to be fully Palestinian -- nor fully Syrian. While the state made efforts early on to integrate most Palestinians into Syrian society by offering them many of the same rights as Syrian nationals, except citizenship and the right to vote, this much-touted policy overlooked two facts: first, many other Palestinians who entered Syria after the first wave, which occurred between 1948 and 1956, remained largely right-less; and second, the totalitarian nature and structure of the society into which the rest of the Palestinians were integrated.
Only those Palestinians who fled to Syria in or before 1956 and their descendants were integrated into Syria's legal and socioeconomic frameworks. But a significant number of Palestinians fled to Syria after 1956 as a result of further conflict. The Syrian state habitually ignores this group in analyses that seek to promote its integration narrative.
Those who fled to Syria during the 1967 war with Israel, from Jordan after the 1970-1971 events of Black September, from Lebanon after the 1982 Israeli invasion, and from Iraq between 2006-2008 all lack most of the basic rights that are extended to other Syrian Palestinians, such as the right to remain as permanent residents and the right to work without being required to obtain residence and work permits respectively.
The last group -- Palestinians from Iraq -- was denied entry into Syria and remained in the Al-Hol desert refugee camp close to the Syrian-Iraqi border for years before countries as far as Brazil offered to resettle them. It is noteworthy that all these policies were adopted during the Baath years, unlike the earlier, more generous ones implemented in 1956.
Indeed, Palestinians who fled to Syria in or before 1956 were more fully integrated than those who came later, but this group was integrated into a totalitarian system that prevented by force any meaningful right to free political expression for the entire population. It managed to keep self-determination at bay through the combination of a ruthless security apparatus and economic policies securing minimum living standards for the ruled population -- an economic and security policy not entirely dissimilar to the PA's in the West Bank and Gaza.
Full integration, therefore, has equaled full co-optation and -- as in most other Arab countries with Palestinian refugee populations -- the systemic subversion of the emergence of strong institutional expressions of a distinct Palestinian national identity, no different, in fact, to the regime’s treatment of its own Syrian nationals. As a result, Syrian Palestinians were not free to express belonging to either Syria or Palestine beyond the regime-sanctioned mimetic rehearsals of pan-Arab sloganeerism.
The Syrian model is often compared with Lebanon's inhumane treatment of its Palestinian population. But what such comparisons fail to account for is the level of political and institutional autonomy available to Palestinians in Lebanon that result, costly and unintended as it might be, from an inverse policy of ostracization and persecution.
One of the accomplishments of the Syrian uprising, however, is that it has extended the right to return to politics for all those in Syria, including Palestinians. Shared suffering at the hand of violence has led to the realization of both Palestinian and Syrian ideals and identities away from the rhetoric of the regime. The scenes of a fellow demonstrator dying, the news of a close friend perishing in the siege, the blood-stained cloth of a neighbor who is being treated in a makeshift field clinic, all constitute ritualistic returns to communal political engagement.
The siege of Yarmouk has unearthed trans-generational memories of the first Palestinian Nakba, kept alive by the obduracy of second- and third-generation refugees now witnessing, without narration or mediation, their camps -- their neighborhoods -- disappear like those of their grandparents. Concurrently, the urgent need to help neighbors and protect their city centers has instilled a new sense of attachment to Syria as a site of lived memories previously nearing extinction.
Thus, a new paradox has been introduced: at precisely the moment that many Syrian Palestinians felt most attached and committed to the uprising as Syrians, their commitment was harshly and abruptly trampled on by the FSA factions operating in the regions around and later inside the camp.
The meaning of a new Nakba for the already dispossessed
When a Syrian gave Palestinians the name for the most traumatic cataclysm in their modern history -- Al-Nakba -- it was an act of rational empathetic contemplation. Today, the Syrian nakba has dictated the painful acknowledgement of several conceptual causalities that can be added to the colossal human loss.
During the long Baath years, when Syria "championed" the Palestinian cause, Palestinian Syrians were never allowed to be fully Palestinian -- nor fully Syrian. While the state made efforts early on to integrate most Palestinians into Syrian society by offering them many of the same rights as Syrian nationals, except citizenship and the right to vote, this much-touted policy overlooked two facts: first, many other Palestinians who entered Syria after the first wave, which occurred between 1948 and 1956, remained largely right-less; and second, the totalitarian nature and structure of the society into which the rest of the Palestinians were integrated.
Only those Palestinians who fled to Syria in or before 1956 and their descendants were integrated into Syria's legal and socioeconomic frameworks. But a significant number of Palestinians fled to Syria after 1956 as a result of further conflict. The Syrian state habitually ignores this group in analyses that seek to promote its integration narrative.
Those who fled to Syria during the 1967 war with Israel, from Jordan after the 1970-1971 events of Black September, from Lebanon after the 1982 Israeli invasion, and from Iraq between 2006-2008 all lack most of the basic rights that are extended to other Syrian Palestinians, such as the right to remain as permanent residents and the right to work without being required to obtain residence and work permits respectively.
The last group -- Palestinians from Iraq -- was denied entry into Syria and remained in the Al-Hol desert refugee camp close to the Syrian-Iraqi border for years before countries as far as Brazil offered to resettle them. It is noteworthy that all these policies were adopted during the Baath years, unlike the earlier, more generous ones implemented in 1956.
Indeed, Palestinians who fled to Syria in or before 1956 were more fully integrated than those who came later, but this group was integrated into a totalitarian system that prevented by force any meaningful right to free political expression for the entire population. It managed to keep self-determination at bay through the combination of a ruthless security apparatus and economic policies securing minimum living standards for the ruled population -- an economic and security policy not entirely dissimilar to the PA's in the West Bank and Gaza.
Full integration, therefore, has equaled full co-optation and -- as in most other Arab countries with Palestinian refugee populations -- the systemic subversion of the emergence of strong institutional expressions of a distinct Palestinian national identity, no different, in fact, to the regime’s treatment of its own Syrian nationals. As a result, Syrian Palestinians were not free to express belonging to either Syria or Palestine beyond the regime-sanctioned mimetic rehearsals of pan-Arab sloganeerism.
The Syrian model is often compared with Lebanon's inhumane treatment of its Palestinian population. But what such comparisons fail to account for is the level of political and institutional autonomy available to Palestinians in Lebanon that result, costly and unintended as it might be, from an inverse policy of ostracization and persecution.
One of the accomplishments of the Syrian uprising, however, is that it has extended the right to return to politics for all those in Syria, including Palestinians. Shared suffering at the hand of violence has led to the realization of both Palestinian and Syrian ideals and identities away from the rhetoric of the regime. The scenes of a fellow demonstrator dying, the news of a close friend perishing in the siege, the blood-stained cloth of a neighbor who is being treated in a makeshift field clinic, all constitute ritualistic returns to communal political engagement.
The siege of Yarmouk has unearthed trans-generational memories of the first Palestinian Nakba, kept alive by the obduracy of second- and third-generation refugees now witnessing, without narration or mediation, their camps -- their neighborhoods -- disappear like those of their grandparents. Concurrently, the urgent need to help neighbors and protect their city centers has instilled a new sense of attachment to Syria as a site of lived memories previously nearing extinction.
Thus, a new paradox has been introduced: at precisely the moment that many Syrian Palestinians felt most attached and committed to the uprising as Syrians, their commitment was harshly and abruptly trampled on by the FSA factions operating in the regions around and later inside the camp.
The meaning of a new Nakba for the already dispossessed
The options available to Syrian Palestinians who are being made refugees yet again hover between the tragic and the absurd. Two propositions sum up the unbearable paradox of being twice displaced.
As the siege and resulting mass displacement continue, former Yarmouk residents have started a unique call demanding the right to return to and from the camp -- a return to the safe familiarity of the protracted camp, from the fragile makeshift shelters that they found outside the camp, and a return from the protracted camp to the cities and villages in the Galilee from where they hail.
The latter return -- the only just solution for Palestinian refugees everywhere -- has been made even more urgent given that more than half of the 500,000 Syrian Palestinians have been displaced, many for multiple times. Furthermore, the places to which they flee within Syria are becoming more and more dangerous. Even the relatively stable places that have so far been saved from the brunt of the bombardment are increasingly becoming unsafe while being pushed to take unequivocally pro-regime stands.
Outside of Syria too, relative safety comes at extraordinary human cost. Almost all of the countries that are currently accepting refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict welcome Syrian nationals as the "good" refugees and close their borders to Syrian Palestinians who are treated as the perennial "bad" refugees. The Lebanese government previously permitted entry to nearly 53,000 Palestinians displaced from Syria who now reside in already over-crowded and under-serviced camps of fellow Palestinians, is now turning them away at the border, while deporting others.
Jordan, meanwhile, has been denying entry to Syrian Palestinians since early 2013. Those who managed to enter before that time, numbering almost 14,000, have been given a status different to that of other refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. While the vast majority live with host families or in rental properties, according to UNRWA, a few hundred have been corralled into Palestinian-only camps, like Cyber City, where they are reportedly prevented from leaving. All live in extremely poor conditions. Syrian Palestinians have also fled to Egypt, Libya, Gaza, Turkey, and as far as Southeast Asia.
The ebb and flow of the horrors at home in Syria and Arab governments' neglect and maltreatment of Palestinian refugees abroad has pushed many to the last frontier, both in a figurative and literal sense. Even before the recent fall of Homs, obituaries of the Syrian uprising started to appear in Arab dailies, while a more sober analysis paints a melancholy picture of the fate of the current conflict.
Amidst the fragmentation and lack of coherence of the opposition forces inside and outside of Syria, the regime is likely to consolidate its power over significant parts of the country and de facto jettison the rest. Under such a scenario, most Palestinians in Syria would end up in regime-held areas. Forced to choose between a Yarmouk-style starvation and siege and a fragmented, weakening, and negligent opposition, ordinary Palestinians are already caving in to the regime as reflected in pro-government marches and the dissemination of propaganda.
While survivalist at its core, this is a major setback for the revolutionary potential that was seen earlier in the uprising with Syrian Palestinian martyr Ahmad Kousa, one of many Palestinian community organizers and activists who sided with the Syrian uprising and coordinated with Syrian activists from Yarmouk.
Existence as crisis
As the siege and resulting mass displacement continue, former Yarmouk residents have started a unique call demanding the right to return to and from the camp -- a return to the safe familiarity of the protracted camp, from the fragile makeshift shelters that they found outside the camp, and a return from the protracted camp to the cities and villages in the Galilee from where they hail.
The latter return -- the only just solution for Palestinian refugees everywhere -- has been made even more urgent given that more than half of the 500,000 Syrian Palestinians have been displaced, many for multiple times. Furthermore, the places to which they flee within Syria are becoming more and more dangerous. Even the relatively stable places that have so far been saved from the brunt of the bombardment are increasingly becoming unsafe while being pushed to take unequivocally pro-regime stands.
Outside of Syria too, relative safety comes at extraordinary human cost. Almost all of the countries that are currently accepting refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict welcome Syrian nationals as the "good" refugees and close their borders to Syrian Palestinians who are treated as the perennial "bad" refugees. The Lebanese government previously permitted entry to nearly 53,000 Palestinians displaced from Syria who now reside in already over-crowded and under-serviced camps of fellow Palestinians, is now turning them away at the border, while deporting others.
Jordan, meanwhile, has been denying entry to Syrian Palestinians since early 2013. Those who managed to enter before that time, numbering almost 14,000, have been given a status different to that of other refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. While the vast majority live with host families or in rental properties, according to UNRWA, a few hundred have been corralled into Palestinian-only camps, like Cyber City, where they are reportedly prevented from leaving. All live in extremely poor conditions. Syrian Palestinians have also fled to Egypt, Libya, Gaza, Turkey, and as far as Southeast Asia.
The ebb and flow of the horrors at home in Syria and Arab governments' neglect and maltreatment of Palestinian refugees abroad has pushed many to the last frontier, both in a figurative and literal sense. Even before the recent fall of Homs, obituaries of the Syrian uprising started to appear in Arab dailies, while a more sober analysis paints a melancholy picture of the fate of the current conflict.
Amidst the fragmentation and lack of coherence of the opposition forces inside and outside of Syria, the regime is likely to consolidate its power over significant parts of the country and de facto jettison the rest. Under such a scenario, most Palestinians in Syria would end up in regime-held areas. Forced to choose between a Yarmouk-style starvation and siege and a fragmented, weakening, and negligent opposition, ordinary Palestinians are already caving in to the regime as reflected in pro-government marches and the dissemination of propaganda.
While survivalist at its core, this is a major setback for the revolutionary potential that was seen earlier in the uprising with Syrian Palestinian martyr Ahmad Kousa, one of many Palestinian community organizers and activists who sided with the Syrian uprising and coordinated with Syrian activists from Yarmouk.
Existence as crisis
Like their parents in Beirut 1982 and grandparents in Jaffa in 1948, Palestinians today find themselves literally being pushed into the sea. Ultimately as a result of Israel's denial of the right of return for Syrian Palestinians -- the majority of whom hail from Galilean towns and cities just several hours away -- as well as the PLO/PA's powerlessness to offer any meaningful help, Palestinians are forced to undertake long perilous journeys on rickety boats through the Mediterranean in search of a country that will take them.
Yet, while many survive, others, who are drowning without a trace, are even less fortunate than celebrated Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani's fictional men who perished on similar journeys half a century ago but whose bodies remained, on a heap of rubbish, as signposts of the communal fate that lay ahead.
Somewhere in a Nordic camp, a fortunate survivor is learning the layout of a new keyboard and a new city grid, starting over, alone, once again. In the boredom of waiting for residence papers, she may realize that being born in one refugee camp does not breed familiarity with another. Likewise, seniority in "refugeedom" does not yield more sympathy. Perhaps she will find that the ambiguity that long defined the relationship between Syrian Palestinians and the camp has finally been resolved: More than a prolonged shelter for an identity in danger of disappearance or co-option, the camp, or al-mukhayyam, for Syrian Palestinians is the new Safad, Al-Jish, Tiberias, and Al-Shajara.
In coming to terms with its impermanence, the memories of al-mukhayyam for the second- and third-generation refugees are what the memories of Palestine were for the first. They are not a reminder of a previous place or a past life as much as they forge a fragmentary incoherent community amongst those who lost it all, yet somehow still manage to start anew anywhere they are allowed entry.
Rather than enduring existential crises, Palestinians learn to deal with existence as crisis. History suggests that this is the stuff of nation building.
Originally published on Al-Shabaka's website on June 6, 2014.
Yet, while many survive, others, who are drowning without a trace, are even less fortunate than celebrated Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani's fictional men who perished on similar journeys half a century ago but whose bodies remained, on a heap of rubbish, as signposts of the communal fate that lay ahead.
Somewhere in a Nordic camp, a fortunate survivor is learning the layout of a new keyboard and a new city grid, starting over, alone, once again. In the boredom of waiting for residence papers, she may realize that being born in one refugee camp does not breed familiarity with another. Likewise, seniority in "refugeedom" does not yield more sympathy. Perhaps she will find that the ambiguity that long defined the relationship between Syrian Palestinians and the camp has finally been resolved: More than a prolonged shelter for an identity in danger of disappearance or co-option, the camp, or al-mukhayyam, for Syrian Palestinians is the new Safad, Al-Jish, Tiberias, and Al-Shajara.
In coming to terms with its impermanence, the memories of al-mukhayyam for the second- and third-generation refugees are what the memories of Palestine were for the first. They are not a reminder of a previous place or a past life as much as they forge a fragmentary incoherent community amongst those who lost it all, yet somehow still manage to start anew anywhere they are allowed entry.
Rather than enduring existential crises, Palestinians learn to deal with existence as crisis. History suggests that this is the stuff of nation building.
Originally published on Al-Shabaka's website on June 6, 2014.
About 926 Palestinian refugees were killed in Yarmouk camp in Damascus from the outset of the Syrian revolution till the end of May, according to the action group for the Palestinians of Syria.
The action group attributed, in a recent report, such a swift upsurge in the death toll of Palestinian refugees to the ceaseless shelling, shooting, blockade, and clashes targeting the besieged Yarmouk camp. 173 and 96 are the death tolls of Palestinian refugees killed respectively in Daraa and Al-Husseiniya camps. 73 more refugees were killed in Khan Al-Sheikh camp in Damascus.
In Sabina refugee camp, 58 Palestinians were killed, along with 41 refugees from the Neirab camp, 40 from Sayeda Zeinab, 33 from the Aidin camp in Homs, and 32 from the Handarat camp in Aleppo.
19 martyrs were documented in each of the following communities, Muzeirib, Al-Aidin camp in Hama, and the Germana refugee camp.
Other Palestinians were killed in Ramel refugee camp in Lattakia, Khan Dannoun, Al-Dhiyabia, and Rukn Al-Din.
The action group attributed, in a recent report, such a swift upsurge in the death toll of Palestinian refugees to the ceaseless shelling, shooting, blockade, and clashes targeting the besieged Yarmouk camp. 173 and 96 are the death tolls of Palestinian refugees killed respectively in Daraa and Al-Husseiniya camps. 73 more refugees were killed in Khan Al-Sheikh camp in Damascus.
In Sabina refugee camp, 58 Palestinians were killed, along with 41 refugees from the Neirab camp, 40 from Sayeda Zeinab, 33 from the Aidin camp in Homs, and 32 from the Handarat camp in Aleppo.
19 martyrs were documented in each of the following communities, Muzeirib, Al-Aidin camp in Hama, and the Germana refugee camp.
Other Palestinians were killed in Ramel refugee camp in Lattakia, Khan Dannoun, Al-Dhiyabia, and Rukn Al-Din.
5 june 2014
Palestinian female refugee identified as Shirin Mahmoud Awad was killed Tuesday after being injured in a bombing when a series of mortar shells hit Bab Touma neighborhood in Damascus, Action Group for Palestinian Refugees in Syria said on Thursday. In Yarmouk refugee camp, violent clashes erupted Wednesday between the Free Army groups and members of the Popular Front - General Command supported by the Syrian Regime Forces, the Action Group added, pointing out that Yarmouk's main street was targeted by sniper fire.
Khan Shih refugee camp in Reef Damascus was subjected to heavy bombing, in addition to targeting adjacent areas with explosive barrels. Material losses were reported during the attack.
In Neirab refugee camp in Aleppo, bombing targeted residential buildings. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the Action Group said that Tunisian authorities have forcibly deported five Palestinian refugees, fleeing from the ongoing events in Syria, to the Algerian borders.
13 Palestinian refugees have been detained in Wardiya police station in Tunisia for 2 months on charges of illegally entering the Tunisian territories.
The Action Group quoted the Palestinian refugees as saying that a Palestinian Embassy representative has previously visited them at the police station where he confirmed that they would be released and transferred to Hamamat in which Palestinian refugees, who were detained at Carthage airport, reside.
However, Tunisian security services forcibly transferred young men including four Palestinians and a Syrian refugee to the Algerian-Tunisian borders at dawn Wednesday despite the fact that they do not have any identity cards, or money, or food, the sources added.
Khan Shih refugee camp in Reef Damascus was subjected to heavy bombing, in addition to targeting adjacent areas with explosive barrels. Material losses were reported during the attack.
In Neirab refugee camp in Aleppo, bombing targeted residential buildings. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the Action Group said that Tunisian authorities have forcibly deported five Palestinian refugees, fleeing from the ongoing events in Syria, to the Algerian borders.
13 Palestinian refugees have been detained in Wardiya police station in Tunisia for 2 months on charges of illegally entering the Tunisian territories.
The Action Group quoted the Palestinian refugees as saying that a Palestinian Embassy representative has previously visited them at the police station where he confirmed that they would be released and transferred to Hamamat in which Palestinian refugees, who were detained at Carthage airport, reside.
However, Tunisian security services forcibly transferred young men including four Palestinians and a Syrian refugee to the Algerian-Tunisian borders at dawn Wednesday despite the fact that they do not have any identity cards, or money, or food, the sources added.
4 june 2014
Palestinian refugee, Zakaria al-Masri, was shot dead by a sniper while he was bunching up firewood in al-Tadhamon area, at the Yarmouk refugee camp, the Action Group for Palestinians in Syria documented. According to a statement by the Action Group, the Yarmouk camp has been subject to heavy shelling, resulting in severe wounds among many Palestinian refugees.
Violent confrontations between the Syrian free army and Popular Front – General Command groups have been going on throughout.
A state of panic has overwhelmed the camp due to the heavy shelling and deployment of regime snipers in adjacent streets.
As for the living conditions, the camp has been witnessing long whiles of water cut-offs for five uninterrupted days besides the power blackouts over more than one year.
Along the same context, the Khan Sheeh camp for Palestinian refugees has been through a severe bread-crisis after having run out of basic materials due to the blockade of the passageways between the camp and the city center, following the violent clashes and ceaseless shelling around the camp.
In Aleppo, north of Syria, two Palestinian refugee children from the Neirab camp were left wounded as a mortar shell landed in a civilian’s home.
Several mortar shells have also rocked the Deraa camp for Palestinian refugees, south of Syria, leading to a remarkable upsurge in homelessness rates due to the violent bombardment.
In another event, the Albanian authorities issued an order ruling for the forced deportation of 21 Palestinian refugees, detained under pretext of illegal visas, to Greece. The refugees have been seeking-asylum outside of the war-torn Syria so as to save their children’s lives.
Violent confrontations between the Syrian free army and Popular Front – General Command groups have been going on throughout.
A state of panic has overwhelmed the camp due to the heavy shelling and deployment of regime snipers in adjacent streets.
As for the living conditions, the camp has been witnessing long whiles of water cut-offs for five uninterrupted days besides the power blackouts over more than one year.
Along the same context, the Khan Sheeh camp for Palestinian refugees has been through a severe bread-crisis after having run out of basic materials due to the blockade of the passageways between the camp and the city center, following the violent clashes and ceaseless shelling around the camp.
In Aleppo, north of Syria, two Palestinian refugee children from the Neirab camp were left wounded as a mortar shell landed in a civilian’s home.
Several mortar shells have also rocked the Deraa camp for Palestinian refugees, south of Syria, leading to a remarkable upsurge in homelessness rates due to the violent bombardment.
In another event, the Albanian authorities issued an order ruling for the forced deportation of 21 Palestinian refugees, detained under pretext of illegal visas, to Greece. The refugees have been seeking-asylum outside of the war-torn Syria so as to save their children’s lives.
3 june 2014
Action Group for Syrian Palestinians of Syria said that 2291 Palestinian refugees have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011. The group, commissioned by UK-based Palestinian Awda (Return) Center in late 2012, stated in a new stat report published on Monday that the number of Syria’s Palestinian refugees killed inside the war-torn country amounted to 2256 and those killed fleeing it 34.
The group added that 1564 Palestinian refugees were killed inside Syria refugee camps and 692 others other outside of their camps.
The group added that 1564 Palestinian refugees were killed inside Syria refugee camps and 692 others other outside of their camps.
2 june 2014
A Palestinian refugee was proclaimed dead on Sunday as a result of his exposure to severe torture in a Syrian jail, while many residents in Al-Yarmouk refugee camp started a hunger strike and refused to take food aid delivered to them. According to the action group for the Palestinians in Syria, a young man named Mohamed Farhoud from Al-Yarmouk camp was killed under torture in a Syrian jail.
The action group added that many families in Al-Yarmouk released a statement on Sunday to announce their hunger strike and refusal to receive food aid in protest at the kidnapping of some women during their receipt of food parcels in an area on the road to Beit Sahem checkpoint.
The families accused armed men from the Syrian regime army and the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command (PFLP-GC) of kidnapping the women.
They appealed in their statement to the Palestinian leaders and human rights groups to urgently intervene to have these women released and protect Al-Yarmouk refugees against starvation, kidnapping, and humiliation.
The action group said that Al-Yarmouk residents suffer from water crisis after its water supply have been cut to all areas of the camp for several days.
In Khan Dannun camp, the escalating armed actions there prompted a large number of Palestinian refugee families to leave their homes.
In another context, the action group for the Palestinians in Syria released on Monday a statistical report on the Palestinian death toll in Syria.
According to its report, 2,290 Palestinian refugees have been killed as a result of the armed conflict raging in Syria for more than three years.
2,256 of these refugee were killed inside Syria, while 34 others died as they were trying to flee the war and go to Europe through Arab countries, the report stated.
140 of the reported victims died from hunger and malnutrition, or because they did not receive medical care in the besieged Yarmouk camp.
The action group added that many families in Al-Yarmouk released a statement on Sunday to announce their hunger strike and refusal to receive food aid in protest at the kidnapping of some women during their receipt of food parcels in an area on the road to Beit Sahem checkpoint.
The families accused armed men from the Syrian regime army and the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command (PFLP-GC) of kidnapping the women.
They appealed in their statement to the Palestinian leaders and human rights groups to urgently intervene to have these women released and protect Al-Yarmouk refugees against starvation, kidnapping, and humiliation.
The action group said that Al-Yarmouk residents suffer from water crisis after its water supply have been cut to all areas of the camp for several days.
In Khan Dannun camp, the escalating armed actions there prompted a large number of Palestinian refugee families to leave their homes.
In another context, the action group for the Palestinians in Syria released on Monday a statistical report on the Palestinian death toll in Syria.
According to its report, 2,290 Palestinian refugees have been killed as a result of the armed conflict raging in Syria for more than three years.
2,256 of these refugee were killed inside Syria, while 34 others died as they were trying to flee the war and go to Europe through Arab countries, the report stated.
140 of the reported victims died from hunger and malnutrition, or because they did not receive medical care in the besieged Yarmouk camp.
31 may 2014
Diyab Mousa
Three Palestinian refugees, including a child, were killed and others were wounded in mortar attacks on Friday on Khan Dannun camp in the countryside of Damascus, according to the action group for the Palestinians in Syria. A child named Diyab Mousa and two others identified as Mohyuddin Awad and Ahmed Sawalmi were killed when a number of mortar shells fell on an area in the camp.
Many others also suffered different injuries in the projectile attacks, the action group stated on its facebook page.
The areas around Dannun camp have been seeing for days escalating armed violence between the warring parties in Syria.
The action group also reported the fall of some barrel bombs on the vicinity of Khan Al-Sheeh refugee camp in Damascus countryside, which caused panic among the residents.
In the besieged camp of Al-Yarmouk, some refugees received food parcels from UNRWA workers, while some basic school students were allowed to return to their homes in the camp after they left it to attend final exams.
In Lebanon, the authorities there allowed some Syrian-Palestinian students who finished their final exams inside Syria to join their families inside the country.
However, the Lebanese authorities still impose entry restrictions on the Palestinian refugees fleeing the Syrian war and deport many of them to Syria, according to the action group.
Three Palestinian refugees, including a child, were killed and others were wounded in mortar attacks on Friday on Khan Dannun camp in the countryside of Damascus, according to the action group for the Palestinians in Syria. A child named Diyab Mousa and two others identified as Mohyuddin Awad and Ahmed Sawalmi were killed when a number of mortar shells fell on an area in the camp.
Many others also suffered different injuries in the projectile attacks, the action group stated on its facebook page.
The areas around Dannun camp have been seeing for days escalating armed violence between the warring parties in Syria.
The action group also reported the fall of some barrel bombs on the vicinity of Khan Al-Sheeh refugee camp in Damascus countryside, which caused panic among the residents.
In the besieged camp of Al-Yarmouk, some refugees received food parcels from UNRWA workers, while some basic school students were allowed to return to their homes in the camp after they left it to attend final exams.
In Lebanon, the authorities there allowed some Syrian-Palestinian students who finished their final exams inside Syria to join their families inside the country.
However, the Lebanese authorities still impose entry restrictions on the Palestinian refugees fleeing the Syrian war and deport many of them to Syria, according to the action group.
29 may 2014
A number of Palestinian families, who fled from Daraa camp in Syria, are still stranded at a border area near the Turkish city Urfa after they have failed to enter the Turkish territory, according to the action group for the Palestinians in Syria. They have been there for several days waiting to be allowed in, the group added.
Turkey imposes entry visas on Syria's Palestinian refugees, but its authorities have stopped to grant such permits for more than a year without stating why it took such measure.
The action group also stated that a number of Palestinian activists intend to stage as of Thursday, May 29, a number of sit-ins outside UNRWA centers in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon to protest the measures taken recently by the Lebanese authorities against Palestinian refugees and asylum seekers fleeing the Syrian war.
The activists will also demand the UNRWA to assume its responsibilities fully towards Syria's Palestinian refugees.
The Lebanese authorities issued a number of decisions preventing the flow and entry of Palestinian refugees to the country.
They also stopped to renew the residence permits of the Palestinian refugees and deported dozens of them to Damascus.
In another context, a group of Palestinian doctors from Europe will visit Lebanon early next month to provide medical services for the Palestinian refugees of Syria, the action group said.
Turkey imposes entry visas on Syria's Palestinian refugees, but its authorities have stopped to grant such permits for more than a year without stating why it took such measure.
The action group also stated that a number of Palestinian activists intend to stage as of Thursday, May 29, a number of sit-ins outside UNRWA centers in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon to protest the measures taken recently by the Lebanese authorities against Palestinian refugees and asylum seekers fleeing the Syrian war.
The activists will also demand the UNRWA to assume its responsibilities fully towards Syria's Palestinian refugees.
The Lebanese authorities issued a number of decisions preventing the flow and entry of Palestinian refugees to the country.
They also stopped to renew the residence permits of the Palestinian refugees and deported dozens of them to Damascus.
In another context, a group of Palestinian doctors from Europe will visit Lebanon early next month to provide medical services for the Palestinian refugees of Syria, the action group said.
28 may 2014
Three Palestinian refugees, including two women, from the same family were killed on Tuesday evening following a bombardment targeting Yalda town, adjacent to the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus. According to a statement by the Action Group for Palestinians in Syria, three Palestinian refugees from al-Masri family were killed following the shelling in Yalda. The Masris’ casualties were identified as Mahmoud Omar, Khouloud Mahmoud, and Dalal Mansour.
In a related event, a mortar shell rocked the Khan Dannoun camp for Palestinian refugees in Damascus, leading to considerable material damage. Violent clashes broke out around the camp throughout.
Limited quantities of food-aid distribution resumed in the Yarmouk refugee camp on Tuesday.
Khan Sheeh camp in Damascene suburbs witnessed a partial recovery of phone and internet connections, suspended for more than 10 days.
In Homs, financial aids were distributed by the UNRWA to a number of al-Aideen refugees while disbursement for around two hundred families was called off due to what UNRWA called mistakes in personal information.
In a related event, the Palestinian refugee children detained in the Tunisian al-Wardiya Detention Center for more than one month called on all action groups and concerned parties to rally round them.
“Give us our freedom back for God’s sake,” the children cried out in an audio-tape published online.
“We are Palestinian children who fled the war-torn Syria,” said one refugee.
“What have we been imprisoned for? All we want is to live just like all other people in the world do,” another child called out.
Around 13 Palestinian refugees, including minors, are still seized in al-Wardiya detention Center after having been arrested more than one month ago by the Tunisian authorities under pretext of illegal visas.
In a related event, a mortar shell rocked the Khan Dannoun camp for Palestinian refugees in Damascus, leading to considerable material damage. Violent clashes broke out around the camp throughout.
Limited quantities of food-aid distribution resumed in the Yarmouk refugee camp on Tuesday.
Khan Sheeh camp in Damascene suburbs witnessed a partial recovery of phone and internet connections, suspended for more than 10 days.
In Homs, financial aids were distributed by the UNRWA to a number of al-Aideen refugees while disbursement for around two hundred families was called off due to what UNRWA called mistakes in personal information.
In a related event, the Palestinian refugee children detained in the Tunisian al-Wardiya Detention Center for more than one month called on all action groups and concerned parties to rally round them.
“Give us our freedom back for God’s sake,” the children cried out in an audio-tape published online.
“We are Palestinian children who fled the war-torn Syria,” said one refugee.
“What have we been imprisoned for? All we want is to live just like all other people in the world do,” another child called out.
Around 13 Palestinian refugees, including minors, are still seized in al-Wardiya detention Center after having been arrested more than one month ago by the Tunisian authorities under pretext of illegal visas.
27 may 2014
The Action Group for Palestinians is Syria said Palestinian citizen Mahmoud Muhammad al-Laham, an al-Raml refugee camp resident, died on Monday under torture in Syrian prisons. Six Palestinian refugees were killed last week, the Group documented in a report on Tuesday.
According to the report, Palestinian refugee camps in Syria have been targeted with ceaseless shelling. The Deraa refugee camp has been subject to artillery shelling while Hindrat camp has been attacked with explosive barrels.
Several mortars rocked the Yarmouk refugee camp, leading to the suspension of aid-distribution. Clashes between the Syrian regime forces, Popular Front – general command groups, and the Free Army broke out throughout.
Limited distributions of food-aid items resumed on Monday in the Yarmouk refugee camp, blockaded for more than 11 months in a row.
Blast-sounds were detected around the Khan Sheeh refugee camp in Damascene suburbs while warplanes kept hovering around the area, triggering a state of panic among the refugees.
Roads between the camp and the city center were blocked due to the continuous shelling and attacks, resulting in remarkable running-outs in food and medical supplies.
According to the report, Palestinian refugee camps in Syria have been targeted with ceaseless shelling. The Deraa refugee camp has been subject to artillery shelling while Hindrat camp has been attacked with explosive barrels.
Several mortars rocked the Yarmouk refugee camp, leading to the suspension of aid-distribution. Clashes between the Syrian regime forces, Popular Front – general command groups, and the Free Army broke out throughout.
Limited distributions of food-aid items resumed on Monday in the Yarmouk refugee camp, blockaded for more than 11 months in a row.
Blast-sounds were detected around the Khan Sheeh refugee camp in Damascene suburbs while warplanes kept hovering around the area, triggering a state of panic among the refugees.
Roads between the camp and the city center were blocked due to the continuous shelling and attacks, resulting in remarkable running-outs in food and medical supplies.
26 may 2014
A Palestinian refugee was proclaimed dead on Sunday after his exposure to months of excruciating torture in a Syrian jail, according to the action group for the Palestinians in Syria on Monday. The refugee was identified as Mousa Abu Issa, a resident of Al-Yarmouk camp.
The action group also reported that the UNRWA was able to resume the distribution of food aid among Al-Yarmouk residents after a two-day hiatus as a result of the renewed armed violence.
In Daraa refugee camp, several homes on Sunday evening sustained considerable damage in heavy projectile attacks.
In another incident, 13 Palestinian refugees are still jailed in the Tunisian detention center known as Al-Wardiya, which is used for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
They were taken prisoners about one and a half months ago on allegations of illigal entry to the country.
The action group for the Palestinians in Syrian appealed to international human rights groups to intervene to have these Palestinians released and pressure the Tunisian authorities to act in compliance with the international law regarding asylum seekers.
The action group also reported that the UNRWA was able to resume the distribution of food aid among Al-Yarmouk residents after a two-day hiatus as a result of the renewed armed violence.
In Daraa refugee camp, several homes on Sunday evening sustained considerable damage in heavy projectile attacks.
In another incident, 13 Palestinian refugees are still jailed in the Tunisian detention center known as Al-Wardiya, which is used for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
They were taken prisoners about one and a half months ago on allegations of illigal entry to the country.
The action group for the Palestinians in Syrian appealed to international human rights groups to intervene to have these Palestinians released and pressure the Tunisian authorities to act in compliance with the international law regarding asylum seekers.
25 may 2014
The Lebanese security authorities on Saturday arrested eight Palestinian asylum seekers on allegations of using forged travel visas, while the renewed armed violence in Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus led to a halt of food aid distribution. According to a report issued by the action group for the Palestinians in Syria, the Lebanese general security arrested eight Palestinian refugees at Beirut airport at the pretext of using bogus entry visas.
The group said that the Lebanese attorney general issued orders to deport them to Syria.
In another incident, the distribution of food parcels in Yarmouk camp was suspended by the UNRWA after the outbreak of new armed clashes between the warring parties there.
The action group also noted that the Syrian political security apparatus kidnapped a Palestinian young man named Ahmed Qassad from his workplace in Al-Aideen refugee camp in Homs.
The group said that the Lebanese attorney general issued orders to deport them to Syria.
In another incident, the distribution of food parcels in Yarmouk camp was suspended by the UNRWA after the outbreak of new armed clashes between the warring parties there.
The action group also noted that the Syrian political security apparatus kidnapped a Palestinian young man named Ahmed Qassad from his workplace in Al-Aideen refugee camp in Homs.
24 may 2014
The place where the Palestinians were taken to
The Palestinian embassy in Tunis have placed the Palestinian asylum seekers, who were detained by the Tunisian security authorities for several days at Carthage airport, under residential confinement and impounded their passports. The Palestinian information center (PIC) was told by reliable sources that the Palestinians were released from the airport and sent at the behest of the Palestinian embassy to accommodations belonging to the Tunisian ministry of tourism in the southern Hammamet area outside the Tunisian capital.
The sources added that the Palestinian embassy and the Tunisian security authorities banned their departure from the accommodations.
A number of human rights activists and Palestinians tried to visit the refugees under house arrest, but they were told by the Tunisian policemen posted outside the accommodations that any visit was prohibited at the request of the Palestinian embassy.
Palestinian ambassador Salman Al-Harfi had reportedly given a permit to a charitable organization to visit the refugees, but later he surprisingly backtracked on his permission and justified his decision by saying that "they are not a commodity and whoever wants to provide assistance for them, they should do that through the Red Crescent."
Journalist Maher Zeid, a specialist in security affairs, told the PIC that the Palestinian embassy in Tunis is still under the influence of a network of strong security ties with the deep state's security system in Tunisia, which pursues a security agenda against the Palestinians who enter the country.
Zeid added that the Tunisian government still deals with the Palestinians through the anti-terrorism unit of its interior ministry, describing such attitude as shameful.
30 Palestinians with Syrian passports had arrived at Carthage airport on 17th May, coming from Beirut on their way to the Libyan city of Benghazi, but they were stranded at the airport after the suspension of flights to the Libyan city
The Palestinian embassy in Tunis have placed the Palestinian asylum seekers, who were detained by the Tunisian security authorities for several days at Carthage airport, under residential confinement and impounded their passports. The Palestinian information center (PIC) was told by reliable sources that the Palestinians were released from the airport and sent at the behest of the Palestinian embassy to accommodations belonging to the Tunisian ministry of tourism in the southern Hammamet area outside the Tunisian capital.
The sources added that the Palestinian embassy and the Tunisian security authorities banned their departure from the accommodations.
A number of human rights activists and Palestinians tried to visit the refugees under house arrest, but they were told by the Tunisian policemen posted outside the accommodations that any visit was prohibited at the request of the Palestinian embassy.
Palestinian ambassador Salman Al-Harfi had reportedly given a permit to a charitable organization to visit the refugees, but later he surprisingly backtracked on his permission and justified his decision by saying that "they are not a commodity and whoever wants to provide assistance for them, they should do that through the Red Crescent."
Journalist Maher Zeid, a specialist in security affairs, told the PIC that the Palestinian embassy in Tunis is still under the influence of a network of strong security ties with the deep state's security system in Tunisia, which pursues a security agenda against the Palestinians who enter the country.
Zeid added that the Tunisian government still deals with the Palestinians through the anti-terrorism unit of its interior ministry, describing such attitude as shameful.
30 Palestinians with Syrian passports had arrived at Carthage airport on 17th May, coming from Beirut on their way to the Libyan city of Benghazi, but they were stranded at the airport after the suspension of flights to the Libyan city
A Palestinian refugee from Yarmouk refugee camp was killed on Friday in Damascus during his presence in an area outside the camp, according to the action group for the Palestinians in Syria. The action group stated on Saturday that a Palestinian resident of Yarmouk camp identified as Hussein Abdul-Rahim was shot dead as he was on the road to Damascus airport.
In another context, the UNRWA was able on Friday afternoon to trickle limited numbers of food parcels into Yarmouk camp and distribute them among some residents.
The Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk has been under tight blockade for about 11 months by the Syrian regime forces and gunmen from the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command (PFLP-GC).
The action group said it obtained information confirming that there are still 11 Palestinian asylum-seekers in detention for more than one and a half months by the Tunisian security authorities at the pretext of illegal entry to the country.
The group appealed for releasing them and treating them as other refugees in compliance with the international law.
In another context, the UNRWA was able on Friday afternoon to trickle limited numbers of food parcels into Yarmouk camp and distribute them among some residents.
The Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk has been under tight blockade for about 11 months by the Syrian regime forces and gunmen from the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command (PFLP-GC).
The action group said it obtained information confirming that there are still 11 Palestinian asylum-seekers in detention for more than one and a half months by the Tunisian security authorities at the pretext of illegal entry to the country.
The group appealed for releasing them and treating them as other refugees in compliance with the international law.
23 may 2014
Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp have called for adopting new ways for the distribution of food aid supplies, pointing to their daily suffering during their receipt of food parcels.
The action group for the Palestinian refugees of Syria stated that the Palestinian refugees in the besieged camp are vulnerable to risks and ill-treatment during aid distribution operations.
The refugees have thanked all parties working on alleviating their suffering.
Yarmouk camp, a home to the largest Palestine refugee community in Syria, is still under tight blockade imposed by the Syrian regime forces and the Popular Front - General Command's armed groups, which led to serious deterioration in Palestinian refugees' living conditions.
In separate incidents, huge explosions were heard in the surrounding areas of Khan Danoun refugee camp on Thursday, while clouds of smoke billowed over Khan Shih refugee camp after intensive projectile attacks on the eastern side of the camp.
For his part, director general of Witness association Mahmoud Hanafi called on the Lebanese authorities to reconsider their decision to ban Palestinian refugees' entry to Lebanon.
He considered such Lebanese measure against the Palestinians a flagrant violation of the international law related to asylum seekers' rights and racial discrimination between Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
The action group for the Palestinian refugees of Syria stated that the Palestinian refugees in the besieged camp are vulnerable to risks and ill-treatment during aid distribution operations.
The refugees have thanked all parties working on alleviating their suffering.
Yarmouk camp, a home to the largest Palestine refugee community in Syria, is still under tight blockade imposed by the Syrian regime forces and the Popular Front - General Command's armed groups, which led to serious deterioration in Palestinian refugees' living conditions.
In separate incidents, huge explosions were heard in the surrounding areas of Khan Danoun refugee camp on Thursday, while clouds of smoke billowed over Khan Shih refugee camp after intensive projectile attacks on the eastern side of the camp.
For his part, director general of Witness association Mahmoud Hanafi called on the Lebanese authorities to reconsider their decision to ban Palestinian refugees' entry to Lebanon.
He considered such Lebanese measure against the Palestinians a flagrant violation of the international law related to asylum seekers' rights and racial discrimination between Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
