Interview with Masawabi family in Gaza

Al Jazeera interviews a Palestinian family who escaped from Baghdad to Gaza: The Masawabi family fled Iraq and came to Gaza after the father was shot dead on his doorstep. Hanaa Masawabi, left, said in Iraq she live in fear of her children being kidnapped But though the trauma they lived through in Baghdad is still fresh in their minds, Hajja Haniya and her daughter Hanaa feel safe now. Haniya said: "We fled after my husband was killed. My daughter and her husband were also threatened. There was no place for us anymore. "We didn't flee from the people. Our neighbours cried for what happened to us." Like most Palestinians from Iraq, all they had were refugee travel documents that expired. Now, they have no travel documents and no passports. Hanaa went through a hellish journey to get to Gaza. In Cairo, Egyptian authorities would not admit her into Egypt while Iraq would not receive her back because her stay permit had expired. Caught between two countries she was deported back and forth for 19 days. Countless interventions later, she and her family were finally allowed to make it to Gaza. Hanaa said: "I'm finally settled. I used to live in fear that they would kill my husband or kidnap one of my children. Now I can sleep at night without fear."

MRG report mentions Palestinians being of special concern

A report on minorities in Iraq, published today by the Minority Rights Group International, warns about the plight of the Palestinian community. It draws largely on reports by Human Rights Watch and UNHCR, so does not add any new information, but adds to the international concern that Palestinians are being exterminated and have no where to flee.

Ha'aretz article

Zvi Bar'el writes about the refugees from Iraq for Ha'aretz, the left-of-centre Israeli paper. He reports on Kurdish opposition to Palestinians coming to Kurdistan. He quotes a statement from Talabani saying "They are certainly invited to visit the Kurdish region, but we will not let them settle there." He also quotes Sheikh Nasser al-Saidi, a Shi'ite cleric in Sadr City, who called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Iraq. "Go to your own Palestine. Fight the occupation there," he told them. Also the the Iraqi minister of displaced persons and immigration said in an interview, "Palestinians are not wanted now in Iraq, because they are suspected of committing acts of terror." A Palestinian recently told a reporter from the London-based Al-Hayat. "As soon as they notice that one's accent is not Iraqi - and, even worse, is Palestinian - the victim has no choice but to leave his home - that is, if they let him leave in peace."

NPR broadcast from Ruwaishid.

NPR broadcasts from Ruwaishid camp in Jordan. One Palestinian interviewed said "We've started to get really bored here. There are people here who have stopped leaving their tents out of boredom. They're mentally tired of being here. Even a prisoner knows how long his sentence will be." UNHCR representative Robert Breen said: "Four years in the desert in this location is more than anybody should have to endure. I thinks it's affected both their physical health, their psychological health, the education of their children, the ability to be able to function in any society. The longer they stay there, the more disadvantaged and dysfunctional they become."

US troops kill Palestinian driver

Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Palestine Today Network – a private network for assistance to Palestinian refugees in Iraq – announced that Muwaffaq 'Abd al-Ghani, 25, who worked as a driver transporting travelers within Iraq, was shot dead by US troops after a bomb that had been planted by the side of a road blew up near a US patrol. As is their habit, the Americans responded by shooting wildly around the area following the explosion and this time killed 'Abd al-Ghani. In a separate incident, National Guards attacked and robbed a Palestinian family and arrested one of the family members. More than 900 Palestinians have been murdered by sectarian death squads in Iraq since the American occupation of the country in the spring of 2003.

Palestinian from al-Sieha kidnapped & killed

IMEMC reports that Anwar Mohamed, a Palestinian, was found dead in a street in downtown Baghdad city near a vegetable market. The man's family reported that a group of masked unknown gunmen attacked the family house located Al Sieha neighborhood in the city; an area which is mainly inhabited by Palestinian refugees. The gunmen destroyed the house then kidnapped Anwar and another, disabled, man. The disabled man was released shortly after being kidnapped on Sunday, he suffered from bone fractures due to torture while Anwar died after being shot in the head on Monday morning.

UNHCR conference on refugees from Iraq

UNHCR will be convening a ministerial-level conference in Geneva, April 17-18, on the humanitarian needs of refugees and displaced people in Iraq and the surrounding region. The conference will bring together Iraqi authorities and those of neighbouring countries, major refugee-hosting states, major donor countries, resettlement countries, concerned regional governmental organisations, NGOs and the UN. One of it's three main objectives will be "To identify more targeted responses to specific problems, including finding lasting solutions for those groups most at risk – e.g. Palestinian refugees in Iraq."

Barzani's spokesman denies Faraaneh's claims about safe haven

The AP has followed up on its interview with Hamadah Faraanah (an Amman-based member of the Palestine National Council) by checking it with a Kurdish official. Unfortunately he denied that permission has been granted for Palestinian refugees in Iraq to find a safe haven in Kurdistan. Barzani's spokesman Fuad Hussein said: "Such topics didn't occur during the visit of Palestinian delegation to Kurdistan." The discrepancy could not immediately be clarified as Faraaneh could not be immediately reached for comment. He had previously told the AP that the deal he'd help negotiate would allow "Palestinian refugees trapped in Iraq a safe haven, a place to live, work or study in the Kurdish provinces and to treat them appropriately as guests of the Kurdish region."

Faraaneh says Palestinians to get passports and safe haven

The AP reports from Amman that "Iraqi government and Kurdish leaders have agreed to give thousands of Palestinian refugees in Iraq a safe haven in northern Kurdish areas, said Hamadah Faraaneh, a Palestinian official who negotiated the deal said Wednesday. He also said the Iraqi government also agreed to issue temporary passports for the Palestinians to enable them to travel outside the country." If this is true, it is extremely good news, but mixed messages have been coming out regarding the PLO delegations to Iraq recently, and we can't yet verify this information. Faraaneh is a journalist and former Jordanian MP.

Ambassador Kassous & KDP say no transfer to Kurdistan

Gulf News reports the Palestinian President's envoy, Jibriel Rajoub, did not meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki or any prominent Shiite political figures during his recent visit to Baghdad. It adds that Ambassador Kassous denied any Palestinian-Kurd agreement to transfer Palestinian residents from Baghdad to the Kurdish safe region. Also Fadhil Merani, the secretary of Barazani's Kurdistan Democratic Party said: "The Palestinians are welcomed in Kurdistan, however, there is no intention to resettle them in the territory." The Gulf News article concludes: "It seems that Kurds and Sunni political forces exerted strong pressure on the Shiite Coalition Iraqi government to determine a new resolution with the aim of Palestinians being treated the same as Iraqis except in settlement issues and the granting of citizenship. According to this resolution Palestinian graduates will be able to work in finance, oil ministries and the Central Bank but not the army, the police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Security operation in Baladiat

Gulf News reports that the Palestinian Ambassador, Dalil Kassous, has welcomed the new security plan conducted by Iraqi and US forces despite the launch of a security operation in the Baladiyat district and the arrest of three young Palestinians. "Palestinians are for any security plan that leads to peace and security in Iraq, and this will guarantee security for the Palestinian community living in this Arabic country. There are ongoing security operations in the Baladiyat district, which includes the largest Palestinian community in Baghdad. This development must be understood as a part of the general situation in most Iraqi districts and thus we don't think it is addressed against Palestinians particularly." Kassous stressed there is ongoing movement to release Palestinian detainees accused of terrorism. He pointed out the Palestinian-Iraqi Shiite relationship is in its best phase and there is continuing dialogue with Shiite leaders to promote this relationship. "The Iraqi political leaders' general view about Palestinians' loyalty to Saddam Hussain had diminished. They believe that terrorist acts directed at the Palestinian community are part of the general security situation .. and that doesn't mean Iraqi Shiite- Palestinians relations are marred."

Growing stigmatisation of Palestinians

Th AP underlines the growing stigmatisation of Palestinians, as part of a "wave of resentment" as Iraqis increasingly point the finger at "foreign Arabs". A television ad, widely aired across Iraq in recent weeks, shows a wealthy Arab man, with a foreign accent, giving an Iraqi teenager some cash and a bomb to plant. Police burst in and arrest him. "You come here from abroad and want to make this young man kill his Iraqi brothers?" an officer accuses. After a suicide truck bomb killed more than 132 people in a Baghdad market a few weeks ago, the head of the Interior Ministry's explosives department, Maj. Gen. Jihad al-Jabiri, said: "I call on the government to deport (foreign) Arabs immediately."

The article says some of the resentment stems from: "Saddam lavished large cash payments on Palestinian suicide bombers in the 1990s, when Iraq faced crippling economic sanctions and many Iraqis were jobless. That caused Iraqis to feel strong resentment toward Palestinians... Sabah Abdul-Wahed, a 35-year-old Shiite Muslim cashier at a restaurant in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighborhood of New Baghdad, said he can't help feeling resentment toward foreign Arabs who live in Iraq. "They had more privileges than Iraqis, and under Saddam they had better lives than ours. I don't mean all Arabs but many of them.""

An insight into life in Ruwaishid camp

CBS reports from Ruwaishid camp on the miserable conditions there, interviewing Miriam, who has lived there with her husband and two small children since 2003: "Thinking they would spend a few weeks in Jordan at the most, they left with the clothes on their backs and ended up in this tent 50 miles from the border with Iraq, surrounded craggy desert as far as the eye can see. They've been here ever since. The tents are of a thick canvas held together by steel poles and reinforced on the inside with plastic sheets and military-style blankets. Most don't have electricity. Residents bring buckets of water stored in raised communal tanks. Inside Miriam's tent, the smell of a small gas heater fills a room that's dark and stuffy, even in the middle of the day. Since the camp is in the middle of the desert, there's very little to do. "Just sitting here, we've become bored and mentally tired," Miriam says. People in the camp have stopped leaving their tents, she says, and the makeshift school and handicraft activities that kept people occupied have stopped due to a lack of will and lack of funding. "Even a prisoner knows how long his sentence will be," says Miriam. She says she fights depression, and her children frequently face infections and skin disorders from the harsh living conditions. Her three-year-old son, Maan, who was born in the camp, has lesions on his legs and his head was shaved due to a skin disorder. As Miriam speaks, the wind shakes her tent's soft walls. The floor is covered with heavy blankets, to soften the uneven terrain. The tent is not solid enough to keep out mice and scorpions, and the wind whips at the bottom edges of the tent. Still, the inside is spotless, with simple wood furniture neatly arranged. A crumpled page from a 2005 calendar is pinned to the blanketed wall. Miriam says she's afraid to cook during the winter. Two years ago, a six-year-old girl was killed in her tent when the wind blew the flames out from under the gas heater. Within minutes, several tents had burned to the ground. "I'm afraid a strong wind will come through and set the whole tent ablaze," she says. Miriam and her family had lived their entire lives in Iraq. She worked in a beauty salon, speaks in an Iraqi dialect, and has never known any other place as home. Her parents fled Haifa in 1948 and headed for Baghdad. She reels off the names of several family members who have been killed, including a cousin whose body parts were returned to the family, she says, in a plastic bag."

European Parliament resolution on refugees

Today the European Parliament passed a resolution (by 74-0) on refugees from Iraq. The full text is here, and the extracts as below:

The Resolution notes that "the security of third-country nationals, stateless persons and particularly the approximately 34 000 Palestinian refugees... in Iraq has drastically deteriorated, and "(1) Urges Iraq's bordering countries to abide by their legal duty immediately to admit refugees, particularly those stranded at their borders and belonging to specially targeted minorities such as stateless Palestinians... (6) Asks the Member States and the international community, as a demonstration of international burden-sharing, to contribute to the resettlement of Iraqi refugees and stateless persons, including the Palestinian refugees from Iraq stranded in the region."

At the end of the debate on the resolution, Commissioner Jan Figel told the House that an aid package of €10.2 million in humanitarian aid for victims of the Iraq crisis was being provided through the ECHO humanitarian aid office. €6.2m would be for those outside Iraq and €4m for those inside the country.

UNICEF talks about Palestinians on Syrian border

UNICEF Representative in Syria Anis Salem describes efforts to assist the Iraqi-Palestinian refugees stranded on the Iraq-Syria border. (Realaudio file)

3 Palestinians abducted

The Civil Network for Aiding Palestinian Refugees in Iraq reported on Tuesday night that three Palestinian refugees were abducted by an armed group in one of Baghdad’s districts. The three were Ibrahim Saleh Abu Abdoun (a lawyer), Ayman Baha’ Ed Deen Al Marzouqi, and Waleed Khalid Sadeq. (IMEMC news)

Palestinians doubt Iraqi government pledge to Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub told IRIN: "We handed over a letter from President Mahmoud Abbas to President Talabani in which we asked for better protection for Palestinians in Iraq and we got a clear message that Palestinians would be treated equally with Iraqis." He added that Talabani told him that attacks directed against Palestinians in Iraq were individual acts and not part of any wider strategy.

However, Palestinians in Iraq are not convinced that Talabani's pledge will change anything. "It is easy to say such things but very hard to implement them on the ground. Iraqi officials themselves have acknowledged that government security forces are highly infiltrated by militiamen and gangs," said Omran Khalid Wadi, a 44-year-old Palestinian refugee who lives in Baghdad. "The best thing is to help us to get out of this country, this would be highly appreciated."

Qussai Mohammed Saleh, 32, is a Palestinian truck driver who was born and married in Iraq. He now lives with his wife and two children in a tent in the al-Waleed border camp. "I call upon all Arab countries and good people in the world to pay attention to us and put an end to our ordeal. We've suffered a lot and we can't stand it any more. Of course we can't go back and depend on government protection. The government can't protect its own people, how can it protect us?" Saleh has been at al-Waleed since last December, after facing continual harassment from militants as well as from US and governmental forces soon after the fall of Saddam, he said. "The last [attack] really terrified us when Shia militia broke into an apartment in the Baladiyat area of Baghdad last year and kidnapped three [Palestinian] men. The following day we found their bodies dumped in the street. They were all killed execution-style."

Dalil al-Kasous, the Palestinian Charge d'Affaires in Baghdad, said nearly 190 Palestinians had been killed since 2003, and 40 others are still being held in Iraqi and US custody.

Islamic State of Iraq reiterates statement about Palestinians

The Islamic State of Iraq (formed by an alliance of groups including:al-Qaeda in Iraq, Islamic Army in Iraq, Mujahideen Army, Conquering Army, Ansar al-Sunnah, Twentieth Revolution Brigades, and Iraqi Union) issued a second statement regarding Palestinians. This statement is extremely worrying as it may incite more attacks against Palestinians who, it must be stressed, are not themselves connected to the Islamic State of Iraq or partisan in Iraqi sectarian conflict. The extracts are below:

"It has grieved us a great deal to see our Palestinian brothers who are living in Baghdad being killed and taken prisoner by the Persians, the grandsons of Ibn Sabaa, the Shiites, and the Jews. Not a single day passes that our Palestinian brothers are not captured or expelled from Baghdad. All this killing and detention is endorsed and encouraged by the current Shiite government of Maliki where the so-called coalition has called for all Arabs to be expelled from Iraq so that the Shiites may settle there. As the result, our Palestinian brothers are living between the hammer of Persian and Shiite militias and the anvil of hunger, exile, cold and the mistreatment from the neighboring countries that claim to be Islamic yet has closed its doors to them.

Because of this great catastrophe and in order to ease the tribulation of our Palestinian people, the Islamic State in Iraq, as a directive from the Amir of the Islamic State, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, may Allah protect him, calls the Palestinians to come and reside in the cities of the Islamic State, may Allah grant it victory, and live under the protection of the State's soldiers and defenders.

This was emphasized by the commander of Believers in his last audio speech when he said “And I, today, out of the responsibility cast upon me, I call all Palestinians and their relatives to go come to the Islamic State of Iraq especially to Anbar, Salahuddeen and Diyala where many houses, farms and gardens split by rivers have been prepared for them and guarded by the men of the Islamic State. These lands were taken as booty with the help of Allah from the Shiites. So be cheerful my brothers, Allah has exchanged your hardships with ease with His might and the blood of the Martyrs.”

Moreover, the Islamic State in Iraq promises to avenge the deaths of the Palestinian sons who are killed, taken prisoners and exiled by the Persian and Shiite militias. And we say to our brothers, we swear by Allah, you are always in our hearts and our eyes, the Jihad will not prevent us from supporting and defending you and for from Allah comes help and guidance." (released by the al-Fajr Media Centre, linked to the Islamic Army in Iraq)

Jazeera interviews Lamani

Al-Jazeera interviewed Mokhtar Lamani, the former representative of the Arab League in Iraq who resigned last week protesting the absence of an Arab will to help Iraqis. On Palestinians he said: "The most important detail on this issue is that no Palestinian ever came to me while in Baghdad asking for protection in order to continue living in Iraq. In fact, all of them came to me asking for the league's help to get them out of Iraq to any Arab country. The reason for that is they [Palestinians] hold travel documents not passports. Most countries do not recognise this type of documents and require a proper passport to grant an individual a visa. We did raise the issue with Iraqi officials, they told us that everybody in Iraq is a target, not only the Palestinians."

Rajoub in Irbil

Jibril Al-Rajoub told reporters in Irbil that the Iraqi government had taken a decision that Palestinians would receive the same treatment as Iraqis, but for "naturalization, since the issue is closely related to our return (to Palestine) and the resolutions by the Arab League." He said that Talabani had agreed to establish a mechanism linking the Palestinian community, the embassy and the presidential bureau to achieve an element of safety and stability for Palestinians in Iraq.

On the key issue of evacuating Palestinians to Kurdistan he said: "Resettling Palestinians in Iraqi-Kurdistan, which is dear to us, is not at all considered.. neither an intention nor on the Palestinian agenda. I neither discussed such a matter with Al-Talabani, nor with Iraqi-Kurdistan president Masoud Al-Barzani"

He stressed: "Palestinians have never been part of Iraq's domestic policy, neither were they part of the aggressive foreign policy (of the former regime), either against Iran or Kuwait, or even Kurds." Finally he noted that measures are underway to open a Fatah office in Kurdistan.

Rajoub says Talabani pledged to protect Palestinians

Jibril Rajoub, President Abbas' senior security adviser, told the AP that he asked Talabani during a meeting in Baghdad last Wednesday for better protection for Palestinians: "His Excellency assured me that the violations against Palestinians were individual acts and the government has promised to ensure protection and safe places for Palestinians in Iraq." (story carried in IHT and Jerusalem Post).

It is unclear from Rajoub's statement whether Talabani has offered refuge for Palestinians in the Kurdish region, something many have been asking for. However an article in KurdishMedia.com today refers to: "the latest news from Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani's [office], offering the Palestinians refugees to Iraq, refuge, shelter and secure place in Southern Kurdistan [that is the Iraqi Kurdistan]." It is unclear whether this is statement is based on an official position/statement by Talabani, but what is worrying is that it continues: "The Palestinians have never been Kurdish friends; in fact, they have always stood against Kurds. Only two months ago their prime minister called Kurdistani Peshmargas "gangs" and the Palestinians have often fought on the side of the Iraqi army against Kurdistani people. Allowing these enemies to come and settle in Kurdistan is not a stupid mistake but treason." (see comments by KM readers)

A 2nd delegation headed by PLO Executive Committee member Dr Asa'ad Abdul Rahman also met with Talabani later in the week. The delegation also met with the deputy president, Adil Abdul Mahdi, and other officials. Reports say that the talks "focused on the protection [of Palestinians] and even possible evacuation to northern parts of the country."

73 more refugees at al-Waleed

73 new refugees have arrived at Al Waleed on the Iraq-Syria border over the last two days. More are reported to be following. The total of Palestinians at this border area has now reached 753, with 354 stuck in no-man's land and 399 remaining on the Iraqi side. An abandoned school close to the border site has been opened to accommodate the new arrivals but is already full and any new arrivals will have to live in tents. In recent weeks, the Iraqi authorities have become increasingly uneasy with the growing numbers at the border and would like to see alternative solutions. There are signs they may force the group to leave the border area but currently there is no safe alternative for these refugees. UNHCR High Commissioner António Guterres is in Syria today on the final leg of a weeklong mission to the Middle East and has been discussing the plight of the Palestinians, who he says are "in extreme danger" with the Syrian authorities.

PLO delegation to Baghdad & Arbil

A Palestinian delegation left Amman for Baghdad today, led by Asaad Abdul Rahman, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee. They plan to meet with President Talabani to urge him to ensure the protection of the Palestinian community in Iraq. The delegation is carrying a message from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suggesting the transfer of Palestinians in Iraq to the northern Kurdish areas, where they could stay as 'guests' of the government of the autonomous Kurdistan province. The Palestinian team also planned to visit Arbil for a meeting with the leader of the Kurdish province Masoud Barzani for the same purpose.

Rocket attack kills Palestinian in Baghdad

Online Palestine reported that Ala Al Shalabi, was killed during a rocket attack that targeted the restaurant he works in in downtown Baghdad city. This site reports that Palestinians are being killed in Iraq on nearly a daily basis.

400 more flee to Syrian border

320 more Palestinians have just arrived at the Syrian border and another 80 are believed to have left Baghdad and are expected tomorrow. The total at the Syrian border is now over 1000. Updates here as soon as the details are clearer.

UNHCR ask Saudi to help

High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres met King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and other top Saudi Arabian officials in Riyadh at the weekend. He urged Saudi Arabia to take an active part in a UNHCR conference on the Iraqi humanitarian crisis due to be held in Geneva in mid-April. He stressed the plight of the 15,000 Palestinians in Iraq, calling on the Saudi leaders to use their influence to help find a solution for this tragedy. Guterres noted Saudi Arabia's long tradition of protecting asylum seekers and refugees. (photo of Al-Tanf camp)

Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi statement

Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi, The Amir of "the Islamic State of Iraq" released an audio statement through al-Furqan media on Saturday. Along with announcing attacks against US soldiers and threatening Iran, it made a worrying reference to the Palestinian refugees in Iraq. Jihad Unspun website writes: "The Islamic State has completed a project of preparing tens of villages with modern housing, living facilities, farms and gardens for the Palestinian brothers who were forced to flee their homes by the Shia Iraq. Amir Baghdadi makes a call to all Palestinians who fled to neighboring countries to come back to their new homes in the Islamic State of Iraq especially to Anbar, Salahudeen and Diyala. [Al-Baghdad said] “Tens of towns have prepared the best of houses for you, from what Allah has given us from the Shiites, with farms and gardens and rivers crossing them, and defended by the men of the Islamic State.”"

The Palestinian community in Iraq is unarmed and not aligned with any of the waring groups in Iraq. However, this statement risks further marking out Palestinians as targets of sectarian attacks.

Iraq refused a PA delegation

Eric Silver reports for the Independent (in Jerusalem): "Ayman Abu Laila, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Refugee Affairs, said the Iraqi government would not let them send a delegation to Baghdad to find a solution." [it is unclear when this request was made and refused]. "Officials in Ramallah said at least 180 Palestinians had been murdered in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein."

School opened in al-Tanf camp

UNRWA has opened a tented school for some 90 children at al-Tanf camp in the no-man's land between Iraq and Syria. The children are among 354 Palestinians who have been stranded at the border for nine months. The school's eight teachers are drawn from among the refugees themselves and underwent a week-long training course in Damascus last month. UNRWA's Syria director Panos Moumtzis called for a long-term solution: "International support is needed to find a solution for Palestinians from Iraq. They are facing a harsh winter in the desert." (AFP report)

Iraqi official admits Palestinians are targetted

Gulf News reports that Iraqi Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Lubaid Abbawi, said: "I met with [Palestinian] Ambassador Kassous and informed him that the Iraqi government is willing to provide safer places for Palestinian residents than the ones they are living in, which makes them vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Targeting Palestinians is part of the daily situation in which Iraqis live, although some cases might be addressed to Palestinians in particular."

Mohammad Al Natur, a Palestinian resident of Baladiyat said: "I hid my true identity while moving from Baladiyat district to other districts. A friend of mine helped me carry an Iraqi sport ID which doesn't mention the nationality of its holder. I also have a perfect Iraqi accent. I was born in Baghdad and I have lived here for 40 years." The misery among the people of Baladiyat district is seen at a first glance. Families live in two-room apartments. The majority of Palestinian residents sell sweets or work in restaurants selling felafel, chickpeas and beans.

Human Rights Watch urges Syria to reopen border

Human Rights Watch today called on the international community, and the US in particular, to provide financial assistance to Syria to help it host the Palestinian refugees, and to share the burden of this refugee problem by offering third-country resettlement opportunities to Palestinian refugees in Syria. Under customary international law, Syria has a legal obligation not to return refugees to persecution or serious harm, and to allow asylum seekers fleeing widespread human rights abuses and generalized violence to enter the country, at least temporarily, to be screened for refugee status. Human Rights Watch urged Syria to abide by its legal duty to admit immediately the stranded Palestinians at its border. “It’s hard to understand why Syria has provided refuge to nearly a million Iraqi refugees but is shutting the door on hundreds of Palestinians also fleeing Iraq,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Syrian government’s mistreatment of these Palestinian refugees contrasts sharply with its declarations of solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Consistent with respect for the right to return, Israel should respect requests by the UNHCR to allow those Palestinian refugees from Iraq with origins in Gaza to return to the Gaza Strip. Finally, Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi government and the US-led Multi-National Forces in Iraq to take immediate steps to improve security for Palestinian refugees in Iraq and end discriminatory and abusive practices by Iraqi officials. Last year HRW published a detailed report, No Where to Flee, on the plight of the Palestinian community in Iraq.

Palestinians are main protection concern - UNHCR

Andrew Harper, head of UNHCR's Iraq support unit, said today, following a trip to the region, "The Palestinians... have to be our main protection concern as they are being targeted by various militias and they are being continually threatened and killed on a weekly basis. There is basically nowhere that we can send them at the moment."

Interview with Dhilal al-Kasous

Dhilal al-Kasous, the Palestinian Charge d'Affaires in Baghdad, told IRIN: "More Palestinians are leaving Baghdad on a daily basis due to ongoing violence against them and they are heading to the borders where they are suffering a lot. They are living in tents in very dismal conditions during this cold weather season, and have no access to potable water and medicine. Their children have left schools and they will be an uneducated generation in the future." He added that fewer than 15,000 Palestinians are now left in Baghdad where they do not venture out of their houses for fear of violent attacks by militia and harassment by Iraqi police.

Refugees speak of horrors in Baghdad

An article by Khaled Abu Toameh in the Jerusalem Post today says:"In 2006, more than 600 Palestinians were killed in [Baghdad]." Extracts from the article are below:

Nadia Othman, a 36-year-old Palestinian mother of three who fled to Jordan after 18 members of her family were murdered, said: "There are less than 10,000 Palestinians living in Iraq and most of them are afraid to walk out of their homes. My sister, who stayed behind, told me this week that she hasn't left her apartment in the Baladiyat suburb of Baghdad for the past three weeks for fear of being killed by Shi'ite militiamen. I'm very concerned for the safety of my mother and five brothers who have still not been able to escape from Iraq." Nadia's decision to leave her home came shortly after one of her brothers, Muhammad Rashid, was killed by Shi'ite gunmen. "The murderers stopped him in the street, asked for his ID documents, and when they saw that he was a Palestinian refugee, they immediately fired three bullets at his head. On the same day, they kidnapped and murdered Farid Al-Sayed, chairman of the Palestinian-controlled Haifa Sports Club in Iraq."

Another Palestinian who fled Iraq and was recently reunited with his family in the West Bank told The Jerusalem Post. "This is a real genocide. Why isn't the international community doing anything to stop this? How come none of the Arab countries has even issued a statement condemning the atrocities?" He said Palestinians who were still living in Baghdad are so afraid that they are using forged documents to conceal their true identity. "It's very dangerous to be a Palestinian in Iraq," he said. "The murderers stop you in the street and ask you to say a few sentences. If they see that you have a Palestinian accent, they make you stand against the wall and shoot you. These are ruthless murderers." In the past few months, he added, he heard "horror" stories about Palestinians who were kidnapped and brutally tortured by the Shi'ite militiamen. "Some have had their ears and noses cut off," he said. "I saw them with my own eyes. The heads of some victims were severed and sent to their families. Many families have had their homes ransacked before they were forced to leave."

Zakariya Al-Agha, head of the PLO Refugees Department, said: "Just last week another four Palestinians were abducted and brutally murdered in Baghdad. Our people in Iraq are facing ethnic cleansing and this is a real tragedy." According to information gathered by Agha's department, some 100 Palestinians who were kidnapped in the past few months are still missing and presumed dead. In addition, the Iraqi authorities have arrested dozens of Palestinians for unspecified charges.

A Palestinian man who was released two weeks ago from prison in Iraq said his interrogators repeatedly accused him and all Palestinians of supporting Saddam Hussein's suppression of the Shi'ites over the past three decades. He had been kidnapped together with 40 Palestinians from the Amin neighborhood in Iraq. "When we arrived at the prison," he said, "the Shi'ite militiamen began shouting, 'We have brought the Palestinians, we have brought the terrorists!' After they beat us for hours, they took us for questioning. They kept asking, 'Why do you Palestinians love Saddam Hussein so much? Why did you take to the streets to protest against his execution? We want all the Palestinians out of Iraq or else we will finish off all of you.'"

Atef Udwan, minister for refugees affairs in the Hamas-led government, said his office was searching for a way to allow the Palestinians in Iraq to move to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "This requires a political solution," he said. "We need to persuade Israel to give these poor people permission to enter our territories. This is a purely humanitarian issue that must be addressed urgently."