Over Seven Decades of Displacement: The Ongoing Palestinian Refugee Crisis

More than half of the Palestinian population are displaced and “approximately one in three refugees worldwide is Palestinian” (Rempel 2006). The Palestinian refugee crisis is no new phenomenon, 700,000 Palestinians became refugees after the 1948 Arab -Israeli conflict, and seventy-three years later, as political tension increases many more Palestinians are facing the same fate. As of May 2021, “more than 38,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are internally displaced as they flee Israeli airstrikes and seek shelter in UNRWA schools and elsewhere” (UNRWA 2021). “Most Palestinian refugees fall under the scope of Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention” and according to Rempel “is commonly misapplied in Palestinian asylum cases”(Rempel 2006).

The Relevance of the Palestinian Issue Today

The infamous case of “Sheikh Jarrah”, a neighborhood that is being evicted due to Israeli settlement construction, has recently created turmoil on social media sites. Nonetheless, this is neither an isolated incident nor a new one. Many Palestinians are forced to leave their homes and find refuge elsewhere. If not forced evictions like in the case of Sheikh Jarrah, bombings and blockades cause relocation of Palestinians to the Gaza Strip which houses 70% of the Palestinian population within Palestine (UNRWA 2021). The restrictions on Gaza deprive the 2 million Palestinians living there of their right to move freely, access electricity and water, and devastated their economy (Human Rights Watch 2020).  By October 2020, “Israeli authorities demolished 568 Palestinian homes and other structures in the West Bank” displacing almost 759 people (Human Rights Watch 2020). More devastating is the fact that it is in a time of international turmoil and uncertainty owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that “Israel averages its highest home demolition rate in four years” (Human Rights Watch 2020). COVID-19 also brought more complications to an already complex process of movement of Palestinians to and from the Gaza Strip which left Palestinians without access to urgent healthcare, especially amidst a global pandemic. “Egypt also sharply restricted the movement of people and goods at its Rafah crossing with Gaza” (Human Rights Watch 2020).

Palestinian Refugees and National Identity

After 70 years of fleeing Palestine, the Palestinian refugee camps now hold four generations of Palestinian refugees, with some not even holding a memory of their homelands. While the huge number of Palestinian refugees are scattered geographically, most are concentrated in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Jordan. The refugee camps they reside in are in terrible, dangerous conditions. Originally built to accommodate 10,000 refugees they now hold four times the number, which had exacerbated after the Syrian crisis (Adams 2018).

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is predominantly taking care of Palestinian refugees, in fact, it is the agency’s only job. However, there has been backlash about the organization being ‘too political’ (Adams 2018). The Trump administration, with its aspirations of ending the Palestinian/Israeli crisis once and for all, has attempted doing so at the expense of aggravating the Palestinians. The administration cut the budget of the UNRWA drastically, which further worsened the situation for refugees (Adams 2018). While the administration has done so in hopes of ending the ‘refugee’ status of Palestinians, according to Adams (2018) this is not likely. The refugees, despite belonging now to the 4th or 5th generation, continue to retain their ‘refugee’ status due to their lack of integration in other societies.  For instance, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are not granted passports, are not allowed to own property, and are not allowed to get jobs. Thus, they have no form of identification except that of being refugees; intensifying their Palestinian identity and their want for and belief in a ‘right of return’.

In a study of Palestinian refugee camps in Ein El Hilweh, Lebanon, it became apparent that there are four main themes that reflect the reality of the refugees: “the concrete barrier; corruption; Palestinian identity; and migration or giving up” (Nilsson 2020: 15). Strategies used for solving practical problems cause the strengthening of the Palestinian group identity (Nilsson 2020:15). There is a constant struggle between migrating for a better life outside the camp and the risks and difficulties that lead to giving up.

On the other hand, “Ein El Hilweh has become an open-air prison for many of its residents” (Nisson 2020: 16).  The dire living conditions have also caused a weakening of the cause of the Palestinian resistance, since securing the basic life necessities has become the priority of most individuals. Thus, for some this has meant a weaker Palestinian identity and a want to be integrated into the Lebanese society (2020: 16). The situation has become even more exacerbated with the influx of Syrian refugees into the camps, causing competition over already scarce resources (Nisson 2020: 16).

“There have been only two periods of official negotiations on the Palestinian refugee issue: early UN-facilitated negotiations in Lausanne (1949) and Paris (1951), and more recent talks held under the auspices of the Oslo peace process”, in addition to the Quadripartite (the 1990s) and US-guided Camp David talks in 2000, and a short round in Taba in 2001 (Rempel 2006). The issue however is that all these talks were between elites and did not include much input from civil society.  Unfortunately, with the magnitude of Palestinian refugees, the constant political tension regarding their case, and the lack of efficient organizations dealing with the issue, it seems like there is no end in sight for the plight of Palestinian refugees. Palestinians are deeply entrenched in their Palestinian identity, if not by pride but also by lack of options. Thus, it seems like there is no plausible solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, which calls for an overhaul in how the predicament is being currently dealt with at all levels of responsibility and authority.

Sources:

 After 70 years, who are the Palestinian refugees?. 2018. BBC. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuZrD5JjfXA&t=35s>

Asser, M., 2010. Obstacles to Arab-Israeli peace: Palestinian refugees. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11104284>

Human Rights Watch. 2021. World Report 2021: Rights Trends in Israel and Palestine. [online] Available at: <https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/israel/palestine>

Rempel, T., 2006. Who are Palestinian refugees? | Forced Migration Review. [online] Fmreview.org. Available at: <https://www.fmreview.org/palestine/rempel>

UNRWA, 2021. The enduring Palestine refugee crisis: from Nakba to Sheikh Jarrah to Gaza – occupied Palestinian territory. [online] ReliefWeb. Available at: <https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/enduring-palestine-refugee-crisis-nakba-sheikh-jarrah-gaza> [Accessed 10 August 2021].

Ranaa Madani is a recent master’s graduate from SOAS University London, she completed the Media and Development program with Distinction. Prior to that, she completed her bachelor’s degree in International Relations.

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