Refugees | The American Task Force on Palestine

Gaza family struggles to survive in a tent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karoun Demirjian - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am

The few dozen yards (meters) of fraying blue tarpaulin and dirt-stained canvas that define the Awaja family's living space can't keep out the cold in winter, or the dust and heat in summer. And when a strong wind blows at night, the shelter caves in on the six children sleeping inside. The Awajas are among thousands whose houses were destroyed during Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in December 2008 with the aim of halting Palestinian rocket attacks.

Palestinians in Lebanon deserve better
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Joseph A. Kechichian - (Opinion) July 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Once again, the fate that befell 450,000 plus Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has preoccupied that hapless country's leaders. Like other neighbouring states, Lebanon warmly welcomed Palestinians expelled from Israel over the years, providing them with relative security even if weak governments failed to regularise their presence. After the hugely mistaken 1969 Cairo Accords, which allowed refugees to arm themselves — ostensibly to attack Israel — Lebanon compounded the Palestinian tragedy by authorising a new battlefront on its own territory.

Palestinians in Syria have to be taught about 'home'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Phil Sands - July 11, 2010 - 12:00am

A year before Srur Ali’s father died, he gave his son a bundle of papers, wrapped in a pillowcase and a plastic bag, with instructions that they were a priceless inheritance and must never be lost. Aged 15 at the time, Srur, a Palestinian refugee living in Syria, gave little thought to the contents but promised to protect them. For the next half-century the documents were hidden away.

Gaza's smuggling-tunnel millionaire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
by Jon Donnison - July 10, 2010 - 12:00am

While many Gazans live in poverty, one Gazan refugee has used the illegal network of tunnels which enable goods to be smuggled into Gaza to build a millionaire's empire. Maybe, like most people in Gaza, I had been watching a little bit too much of the World Cup. But sitting on Abu Nafez's lush sprinkler-assisted lawn outside his palatial home in the southern Gaza Strip, I kept thinking it was a bit like meeting a Premiership footballer.

Lebanon's Palestinians, the shame rises
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) June 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The current debate in Lebanon about the legal status of several hundred thousand resident Palestinian refugees reflects the best and worst of the Arab world. The mistreatment, abysmal living conditions and limited work, social security and property rights of these Palestinians are a lingering moral black mark – but change is in the air, initiated largely by Lebanese.

Hariri calls for national unity on granting rights to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Simona Sikimic - June 30, 2010 - 12:00am

“There are humanitarian, social and ethical duties, and the Lebanese state should assume the responsibility of providing them to the Palestinian brothers,” Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday. “Lebanon will not dodge these duties, which must be crystal-clear, and not be subject to any misinterpretation.” Calling for national unity on the issue, the Prime Minister went on to express his commitment to obtaining a cross-party agreement in exchange for security cooperation from various Palestinian factions, responsible for upholding law and order in the country’s 12 refugee camps.

10 Jordan Valley families given 24 hours to leave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Ten families in the Jordan Valley were handed home demolition orders on Sunday and given 24 hours to evacuate their lands. Most of the homes to be demolished belong to the Daraghmah and Al-Makahmreh families, who say they have documents proving their ownership of the land filed with Israel's Land Registry. The families said they had been issued demolition orders before, however this was the first time they had been given a 24-hour notice.

History still hurts as Lebanon agonises over Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Emile Hokayem - June 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Three years ago, Fatah al Islam, a jihadi group based in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al Bared in northern Lebanon, launched a bloody attack on the Lebanese military. In the next three months, most of the camp was destroyed and dozens of civilians, nearly 200 Lebanese soldiers and several hundred fundamentalist militants – most of them not Palestinians – were killed.

Palestinian refugees demand dignity in Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Abigail Fielding-Smith - June 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Kamal Suleiman, an electrician from one of Lebanon’s poorest and most violent refugee camps, gestured towards the 5-year-old boy by his side. “I am here for him,” said. “Because of my son.” Mr Suleiman and his little boy were among the thousands who gathered across Lebanon yesterday to demand greater social and economic rights for Palestinians in the country. Organisers estimated that 6,000 attended yesterday’s demonstration in Beirut, and thousands more protested in Tripoli, Tyre and the Chouf mountain region.

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