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."