A glance at the situation of Palestinian refugees

Palestinian refugees have had a chequered existence in the Middle East. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Palestinian refugees are those who had been residents of Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who had lost their homes and means of livelihood, as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israel conflict. Thousands more Palestinians fled homes after the six day Arab- Israeli war of 1967. UNRWA’s definition of refugees also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948. According to the agency there were 953,000 Palestinians in Jordan, 425,000 in Syria, 410,000 in Lebanon as at 31 March 2005. And according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, there were 70,000 Palestinian refugees in Egypt and 23,000 in Iraq as at 1 January, 2005. While the dispute over their land continues, they too continue to face struggles in the countries they have taken refuge in. As World Refugee Day is marked on 20 June, below are a series of articles on the situation of Palestinian refugees in the region. The following stories are current: EGYPT: A quarter-century after Camp David, Palestinians face discrimination, say experts -21 Jun 2006 JORDAN: Palestinian refugees feel neglected - AMMAN, 19 Jun 2006 The following articles are a selection of features and news stories on Palestinian refugees published by IRIN over the past 3 years. LEBANON: Palestinian refugees complain they are second class citizens - BEIRUT, 2 Oct 2005 SYRIA: Focus on Palestinian refugees - DAMASCUS, 14 Feb 2005 SYRIA: Damascus opens doors to Palestinian refugees on border - DAMASCUS, 9 May 2006 IRAQ: Palestinians flee to borders amid intimidation - BAGHDAD, 5 Jun 2006 IRAQ: Hundreds of Palestinian refugees evicted by landlords - BAGHDAD, 19 Jun 2003 JORDAN: Travel restrictions eased for visiting West Bank Palestinians - AMMAN, 7 Jun 2005 JORDAN: Local charities seek to help besieged Palestinians - AMMAN, 29 May 2006 JORDAN: Observers sceptical about Hamas plot in kingdom - AMMAN, 16 May 2006 SZ/AR