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Palestinian Refugees Entangled in the Syrian Conflict

The following post was written by APN intern Austen Eberhardt 

Last week, the Middle East Institute welcomed the Commissioner-General of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Filipo Grandi, for a briefing entitled "Palestinian Refugees in a Changing Middle East." Addressing a crowd of mostly Middle East policy experts and scholars, Grandi stated that "The biggest competitor for attention and... resources to the question of Palestinian refugees today, is...Syria." However, in his analysis of the current situation on the ground, he introduced a new and "underreported" element into the discourse on the ongoing civil war in Syria, the "Palestinian element."

Grandi covered three somewhat "obvious" aspects of the Palestinian refugee problem - Jordan and the refugees, the blockade on Gaza, and the impact of Israel's West Bank settlement activity (more on those later) -- but the news was the impact of Syria's civil war on the Palestinian refugees. 

Grandi reminded the audience that there are almost 500,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria. Most of them have lived in the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus since 1948. But unlike Syria's Christians, Druze or Alawites, you cannot characterize these Palestinians as a minority since they are not citizens of Syria. Despite the Palestinian refugees' desire to remain neutral and not get involved in a war that does not directly concern them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid a conflict that has claimed over 70,000 lives and dominates all facets of daily life in Syria. 

Just like other minorities who fear their fate after the fall of the Assad regime, Palestinian refugees could face dire consequences on the day after Assad, and UNRWA is planning for it, Grandi said. However he did not mention any specific contingency strategy. Therefore, as the fighting converges on Assad's stronghold in Damascus, groups of refugees have entered the fray. Their allegiances are divided between the government forces and the rebel opposition.

Since the onset of bloodshed in Syria, Grandi explained, "it has been the preoccupation of the UNRWA and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to continuously pass the message that Palestinians in Syria should be left out of this conflict." One of the immediate consequences of the turmoil in Syria is the flow of Palestinian refugees from Syria into Jordan. Jordan already is home to over two million Palestinian refugees. When almost 250,000 displaced Palestinian refugees attempted to flee the violence in Syria, Jordan closed its doors. Grandi stated, "Jordan has issued a very stringent policy of no admission for Palestinian refugees from Syria." 

Apparently, Jordan feels that it has done enough to help the Palestinians over the past six decades. Grandi cited this policy as an example of how sensitive the issue of Palestinian refugees has become in Jordan. Jordan is concerned that, "in the absence of a solution to the refugee question and with other refugee hosting countries in crisis, that Jordan may become the only place where Palestinians go." 

Out of concern that absorbing more Palestinian refugees would give credence to the argument that Jordan is the de-facto Palestinian state, the Jordanian authorities are strictly denying entry to Palestinian refugees from Syria, Grandi explained. The result is that refugees are finding refuge in Lebanon instead. 

Shifting from Palestinian refugees in Syria to the ones in the West Bank and Gaza strip, Grandi reported that Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip is still intact and causing an ongoing humanitarian crisis. "One should not think that the blockade of Gaza has been eased in any significant way... things have not fundamentally changed," He said. By being perpetually blockaded by Israel, Gaza has been "artificially kept in a state of underdevelopment," Grandi said, adding that "Hamas gets reinforced by the blockade." 

As for Grandi's take on the West Bank settlement activity, he said, "They are the biggest obstacle in the way to peace."