90 flee Baghdad after yesterday's abductions

UNHCR reports that "a group of up to 90 terrified Palestinian men, women and children fled Baghdad in two rented buses early Wednesday morning headed towards the Syrian border, a day after some 30 Palestinian men were taken from their apartments by unidentified uniformed men who later released them."

Seventeen Palestinian men from Baghdad's Hay El Nidal neighbourhood were forcibly taken from their homes early Tuesday morning and released seven hours later. Another 13 were reportedly detained in the Al Amin area near Baladiyat and released shortly thereafter. What happened to the men during their abduction remains unclear. But the men and their families were clearly traumatized by the ordeal and afraid to provide any details. All Palestinian families living in a Hay El Nidal apartment building rented by UNHCR had abandoned their homes by Wednesday. Some fled to other parts of the city, while others joined the group headed toward Syria.

The abductions caused great panic among the Palestinian community. Some Palestinians told UNHCR they "feared the attack of militias at any time." Many other Palestinians told UNHCR that they wanted to leave as well, but couldn't because they lacked proper documents, or because they still have family members in Baghdad who cannot go. "Of all the groups being targeted in Iraq, the Palestinians are the most vulnerable as they literally have nowhere else to flee, and in many cases have been denied travel documents," said Andrew Harper, the Geneva-based senior Iraq operations manager. "The international community must act now to help these people. A safe haven needs to be found immediately, outside Iraq."

Saleem al-Za'noun, Head of the Palestinian National Council, said the killing of Palestinian refugees in Iraq at the hand of armed militias may lead to genocide. He said that the world is raising no finger at this aggression which is carried out against the Palestinian refugees in public and at daytime. He also said that the Palestinian leadership demanded the Iraqi brothers to protect the Palestinian refugees in Iraq.

17 Palestinians kidnapped in Baghdad

Men allegedly wearing uniforms of the Iraqi security forces abducted a group of 17 Palestinians in Baghdad early on Tuesday, UNHCR said. Several uniformed men entered the building rented by UNHCR at 5 am, broke doors and windows and took away 17 Palestinian men but left women behind, the agency's spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters. Some of the Palestinians were released later on Tuesday, he said. But Redmond was unable to say how many and how they were released. "Palestinians are increasingly targeted for killings, kidnapping, harassment and other abuses," he said. "It's very difficult for Palestinians to move because of a lack of documentation." They were often unable to get the necessary paperwork to leave the country, Redmond said. "Many of those in Baghdad who have tried to leave have been turned back by militia." He continued: "It is urgent that international support is found to bring at least a temporary solution for Palestinians from Iraq." He noted that UNHCR had already tried, to no avail, to secure them entry into Jordan and Syria, return to the Palestinian territories with the permission of Israel, relocation to other Arab states, and resettlement outside the region. "At the same time, we continue to advocate for better protection of the Palestinian community inside Iraq. But under the present circumstances, return to Iraq is no option unless security is restored. Right now, it's an untenable situation for the Palestinians and it is deteriorating on a daily basis."

Motion in British Parliament

An Early Day Motion (EDM 709) has been initiated in the British Parliament by John Austin MP, and has been signed by 35 MPs so far: "That this House expresses its great concern for the safety and welfare of the Palestinian population in Iraq and for many of those who have fled; notes that since 2003, the Palestinian community in Iraq has faced escalating forms of insecurity, including evictions, discrimination, torture, kidnapping, targeted killings and shelling of Palestinian neighbourhoods, and that these attacks have come from both government forces and insurgents; draws attention to the numbers of Palestinians who have fled Iraq or who have been displaced internally; notes that borders with Jordan and Syria are now closed and that many refugees are stranded in makeshift, temporary refugee camps at Ruwayshid in Jordan, Al-Hol in Syria and in the border area of Iraq and Syria at Al-Tanf; notes that they are receiving little or no humanitarian aid or support and that their plight is desperate; asks the Government to urge the United Nations to intervene immediately to provide both aid and security; and calls upon the Department for International Development to give all possible assistance to UNHCR in this task and in its efforts to support the 20,000 Palestinians stranded in Baghdad."

Human Rights Watch comments

Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said Jordan and Syria are unwilling to take in Palestinian refugees, including more than 300 stranded in “no man’s land” on the Jordanian border in harsh desert conditions. He said, "They feel they’ve already paid their dues to Palestinian refugees."

Ismail Haniyeh's comments

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh today called on the Iraqis to unite, appealing for an end to sectarian bloodshed in the country. "We call for our brothers in Iraq to unite Iraq, and to unite the Iraqi people and to stop the shedding of Iraqi blood". He also said "We have almost 20,000 Palestinians living in Iraq facing assassinations, killings and kidnapping".

Zakaria al-Agha, head of refugee affairs for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, said about 520 Palestinians in Iraq had disappeared over the past three years. Some were later found killed, with torture marks on their bodies, he added, “Who ever speaks the Palestinian accent in Baghdad is snatched and killed."

UNAMI HRO nov-dec report

The latest report by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq's Human Rights Office outlines the perilous situation of the Palestinians. See here for a document containing relevant clippings from all UNAMI reports since July 2005.

Killings, threats, intimidations, and kidnappings are becoming the norm for Palestinians in Iraq. Many of these actions are reportedly carried out by the militias wearing police or special forces uniform. Most of the victims are found dead or simply disappear. Sixteen Palestinians were kidnapped and 9 killed during the reporting period. HRO received unconfirmed reports that many victims were interrogated and killed in illegal detention centres run by militias. Many residents have reported receiving threatening letters demanding they evacuate their houses and many of the abandoned houses were later occupied allegedly by members of militias or their affiliates.

On 2 November, two individuals were killed in front of their parents by the Iraqi National Guard in Al Fadil area in Baghdad. On 27 November, the body of 72-year-old Tawfiq Abdul Khaliq was found bearing signs of torture. On 13 November, unidentified gunmen killed a female Palestinian in Al Mashtel area in Baghdad. Her house was occupied by militias and when she asked MNF-I for help, the militia torched her house before departing. Other Palestinians were targeted and kidnapped for ransom and then released or killed. On 30 November, a taxi driver, was kidnapped at the Al Habibia area and then released. A shopkeeper was taken from his shop in Al Mashtel area on 2 December. The kidnappers came in one police and three civilian cars. His body was found on 7 December at the Baghdad morgue.

Attacks on the Palestinian compound in Baladiyat in Baghdad for instance are frequent in order to compel Palestinians to leave their dwellings and their belongings. Baladiyat is located in the midst of a Shiite area and threats are usually followed by small arms fire and mortar attacks. In the past two months, at least six incidents of organized attacks on the Palestinian compound have been recorded, such as on 26 November, when a group of gunmen stormed the quarter and demanded Palestinians leave or be shot. On 9 December, three mortar shells landed in Al Baladiyat wounding ten. On 13 December, mortar attacks continued to rain on the compound for three hours, killing up to 11 and injuring more. There were reports that the area was cordoned off by police, according to some accounts, and by militias according to others, thus preventing injured Palestinians to reach hospitals.

HRO and UNHCR maintain regular contacts and continue to monitor the situation of Palestinians. On at least two occasions in December, UNAMI had to call upon MNF-I to intervene while the Palestinian compound was being attacked. The police and MNF-I were reported to have arrived after the attacks had ended, and briefly patrolled the area. UNHCR reported that 350 Palestinians from Iraq (who recently left Baghdad) remain near the Al Tanf border crossing between Iraq and Syria in a makeshift refugee camp located in the no man's land between both borders. They have been denied entry by the Syrian government and they refused to return to Iraq. As a result, they have been living in increasingly desperate circumstances for the past six months. There are 131 Palestinians still within Iraq near Al Tanf border. Similarly, at the border with Jordan, 7 Palestinians remain between the Jordanian and the Iraqi border.

First Palestinians arrive in Canada

UNHCR reports on the resettlement of one family in Ottawa, part of a group of 63 Palestinian refugees that the Canadian government has agreed to resettle from Ruweished camp.

UNHCR confident of resettling the 97 Palestinians on Jordan-Iraq border

UNHCR said they were confident about the resettlement of 97 Palestinian refugees from Iraq who are in Ruweished refugee camp, 50 km from the Jordanian-Iraqi border, after 49 Palestinians left the tent camp for Canada last month (most had been in the camp for more than 3 years). "UNHCR will aggressively look for resettlement opportunities for the refugees in Ruweished and once that has been achieved the camp will be closed permanently," said Rana Sweis, Public Information Assistant at UNHCR, Jordan. UNHCR Representative in Amman, Robert Breen said the UN agency was also exploring options to have the refugees relocated in Jordan in a "less hostile environment. The refugees continue to suffer from extreme cold in winter and extreme heat in summer; the real solution is to have them moved to a third country, but in the meantime we want to make their life better."

Palestinians at funeral appeal to Hamas

The Baghdad correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a condolence meeting was held for 30-year-old Ahmad Ma'lah, a Palestinian murdered by the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia in the al-Baladiyat section of Baghdad two days earlier. At the meeting the father of the murdered man – who was killed after the Jaysh al-Mahdi abducted him from the barbershop where he worked – called on Hamas to take a clear stand on the torture and murder to which Palestinians have been subjected in Iraq.

Al-Awda launches campaign

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition in the US, has launched a campaign on behalf of Palestinians trapped in Iraq. They have produced a factsheet, photos from al-Tanaf camp on the Iraq/Syria border, and an action alert calling on people to:

1. Contact the US Department of State to demand that the American occupation forces in Iraq put an end to anti-Palestinian attacks. According to the Geneva Conventions, the US is obliged and expected to protect all civilians in areas it is occupying by force.
2. Write and call the Syrian embassy in Washington, D.C. to ask that the stranded Palestinians on Syria's borders be admitted into Syria without delay.
3. Write and call the Jordanian embassy in Washington, D.C. and ask that the Palestinian refugees stranded in Al-Ruweished camp be admitted into Jordan without any further delay:
4. Write and call the Iraqi "embassy" in Washington, D.C. and demand an immediate end to the persecution of Palestinian refugees in Iraq.
5. Write and call United Nations offices in New York and demand that:

• The United Nations agencies do their utmost to ensure that the Palestinian population in Iraq is protected in the interim.
• That UNRWA and UNHCR provide the refugees stranded at the Iraqi-Syrian and Iraqi-Jordanian border with shelter, basic and medical needs until their situation is resolved.
• UNRWA and UNHCR help Syria and Jordan as needed, to admit the stranded Palestinians.
• Demand that The United Nations act to ensure implementation of the inalienable natural, legal, individual and collective rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and land of origin in Palestine per United Nations Resolution 194. This resolution has been affirmed more than 130 times by the United Nations General Assembly since 1948 with the imposition of the state of Israel, and the expulsion and dispossession of the refugees.