Refugees | The American Task Force on Palestine

The Palestinians: The single currency for crises
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq al-Homayed - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Lately, many people came out to say "no to Palestinians being exploited in the crises of some Arab regimes." This was after demonstrations broke out at the Yarmouk Palestinian Refugee Camp in Syria in protest at the Syrian regime sending Palestinian youth to the occupied Golan Heights, which led to them being killed at the hands of the Israeli army.

Netanyahu distorts the refugee problem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed his great deception skills again on Sunday. He stated that the clashes on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights that day proved that the Palestinians were not interested in a solution based on 1967 borders, but rather sought a solution based on 1948 borders. For once there was a nugget of truth in his comments, because he correctly mentioned the importance of 1948 in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Report: 14 Palestinians killed in Syria camp
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Fourteen Palestinian refugees were reported killed and another 43 injured on Monday, a report from the Palestinian government's WAFA news said. The victims were part of a massive group in Al-Yarmok, an unofficial Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital of Damascus, mourning the death of between 10-23 Palestinians by Israeli fire on the Golan Heights ceasefire line the day before.

Violence at Palestinian camp funerals in Syria leaves 20 dead
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Roula Hajjar - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Funerals in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near the Syrian capital of Damascus turned violent late Monday as clashes erupted between camp residents and a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction, leading to the deaths of as many as 20 people, according to Palestinian sources and amateur video posted on the Internet.

September Knocks on Israeli Gates
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Pierre Klochendler - (Opinion) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

"September 2011 is knocking on our gates," says an Israeli army officer who, under strict operation procedures, would not reveal his name. He was alluding to the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting expected to resoundingly endorse the Palestinian drive for recognition of statehood.

Palestinian refugees in Syria determined to return home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Thousands of Palestinians in Syria who have never seen their original homes before are preparing to travel on June 5 to the Golan Heights two thirds of which are under Israeli control. Sixty-three years have passed since they were displaced from their homes. However, Palestinian refugees in Syria are still determined to return home. "We want to cross the borders peacefully to return to our fathers and ancestors' home," said Hasan Hijazi, a Palestinian man who managed to cross the borders and get to Jaffa on May 15.

UN: Israel displaced 149 Palestinian children in 2011
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian homes has displaced 149 children in the West Bank so far this year, figures from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees show. Between January and April, Israel destroyed at least 193 Palestinian structures, including 78 residential units, forcibly displacing 333 Palestinians, UNRWA said. The figures show a sharp rise from with the same period in 2010, when 142 Palestinians -- including 61 children -- were forcibly displaced.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria bury dead
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Albert Aji - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Lebanon and Syria carried coffins through the streets of their refugee camps Monday as they buried those killed when protesters marched on Israel's border. Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of Arab protesters who marched toward Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, killing at least 15 people, including 10 in Lebanon. The Palestinians were marking a Palestinian day of mourning for their displacement in the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948.

Palestinian refugees call for third intifada during deadly clashes at Israel-Lebanon border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nicholas Blanford - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am

At least six people were killed and scores wounded Sunday when Israeli troops opened fire on a massive crowd of Palestinian refugees who gathered on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel to demand a return to the homes they were forced to leave 63 years ago. Another four Palestinians were reportedly killed when they infiltrated the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria during another demonstration to mark the anniversary of the "nakba," or "catastrophe," as many Palestinians call the day Israel was founded in 1948.

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