Palestinians from Iraq are refugees once again: Syrian government allocates small plot for new camp
MEMC- 9/1/2007
The Ministry of Refugees announced Monday that the Syrian government has agreed to allocate 10 dunams of land to build houses for the hundreds of Palestinian refugees fleeing Baghdad.
The Ministry issued a press
release Monday indicating that the Department of Information said “the
implementation of the housing project, which will absorb 260 of the Palestinian
refugees, will begin soon.”The Syrian government approved the project after a
series of contacts and correspondence held by the Ministry with a number of
authorities in Syria.General Director of the Ministry and Coordinator of the
Follow-Up Committee, Hussam Ahmed, thanked the Syrian government for its
approval and support of Palestinian refugees living in Palestinian refugee camps
in Syria.
He pointed out the importance of the project to alleviate the suffering of the
Palestinians fleeing Iraq, particularly as they are currently living in tents in
Syria and facing extremely difficult conditions. He stressed that construction
of the new housing units would “alleviate some of the daily suffering and
provide the beginnings of a dignified life.” He said that Syria is respecting
its duties towards the Palestinian people in general and the rights of refugees
in particular. Ahmed called on other Arab countries presently hosting refugees
to open their doors to Palestinians who have been fleeing Iraq since the United
States began its war several years ago and internal fighting there targeted the
Palestinian community.
Head of the Hamas political bureau living in exile in Syria, Khalid Mashal, has
been ready to coordinate with the the United Nations Relief Works Agency in
establishing residential areas for Palestinians in Damascus on land allocated by
the Syrian government. Mashal said that the UNWRA has shown willingness to take
on its responsibility toward Palestinian refugees currently in the northern
Damascus camp.
Ahmed expressed concerns for the Palestinian refugees that remain on the border
between Iraq and Jordan in Ruwashid Refugee Camp and is asking that the
Jordanian government allow the refugees to enter. The Jordanians have been
reticent over the past year to take on any more Palestinian refugees, as the
government in Amman suggests there are too many already. Some 70 to 85 percent
of the Jordanian population is Palestinian after being forced from historic
Palestine by the early Zionists and later by the state of Israel.