The Truth about the Palestinian ‘Refugees’
by Joy Wolfe
How many times have you heard critics of Israel claim that the Jews drove out the Palestinians in 1948 when a UN vote created neighbouring states of Israel and Palestine.
As we know the Palestinians rejected the partition and five Arab armies attacked the fledgling Jewish state, and to this day have continued to have varied stages of war, both hot and cold.
Israel has not know one day of real peace in her 59 year history, and currently is not only fighting a war against terror, but also a war of words against the media and against the many enemies of Israel who distort the truth and disseminate lies.
Among those lies are the allegations that the Palestinians were driven out or attacked and that that was the start of their long history as refugees, with a current ludicrous claim that there are now around 5 -6 million Palestinian refugees, all seeking the right of Return.
Setting aside the fact that our enemies prefer not to admit that around 900,000 Jews were forced to flee Arab countries at the time of the declaration of independence of Israel, and certainly would never facilitate their Right of Return, what better way could their be to refute the allegations about the Palestinians being driven out than to listen to the words of Palestinian spokespeople and media outlets.
The quotes below very strongly testify to the Jewish claim that the Palestinians were not driven out, but left at the unequivocal, albeit mistaken advice of their own leaders. There are eye and ear witness reports of the lengths Israel went to to try to persuade the Arabs to stay. Indeed many did and they and their descendants make up Israel’s Arab population to this day.
Don’t take my word for it - read the following quotes and you will see the Palestinian version:
QUOTE: “The Arab states which had encouraged the Palestinian Arabs to leave their homes temporarily in order to be out of the way of the Arab invasion armies, have failed to keep their promise to help these refugees.”
The Jordanian daily newspaper Falistin, Feb 19, 1949.QUOTE: “For the flight and fall of the other villages it is our leaders who are responsible because of their dissemination of rumours exaggerating Jewish crimes and describing them as atrocities in order to inflame the Arabs…”
The Jordanian daily newspaper, Al Urdun, April 9, 1953.QUOTE: “The 15th May, 1948 arrived… on that day the Mufti of Jerusalem appealed to the Arabs of Palestine to leave the country, because the Arab countries were about to enter and fight in the stead.”
The Egyptian daily Akhbar El Yom, Oct 12, 1963.QUOTE: “The fact that there are these refugees is the direct consequence of the act of the Arab states in opposing partition and the Jewish state. The Arab states agree upon this policy unanimously and they must share in the solution of the problem.” ? Emile Ghoury, secretary of the Palestinian Arab Higher Committee, in an interview with the Beirut Telegraph Sept. 6, 1948.
“Who brought the Palestinians to Lebanon as refugees, suffering now from the malign attitude of newspapers and communal leaders, who have neither honor nor conscience? Who brought them over in dire straits and penniless, after they lost their honor? The Arab states, and Lebanon amongst them, did it.” ? The Beirut Muslim weekly Kul-Shay, Aug. 19, 1951.
QUOTE: “The Palestinian People does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means of continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism.”
Zahir Musehin (Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee member. March 31, 1977 in the Dutch newspaper ‘Trouw’)
In addition to all that the international community conveniently forgets that the Palestinians have been thrown out of many Arab countries, yet it is only Israel they want to saddle with a refugee problem.
The situation of the Palestinians in Lebanon deteriorated steadily in the wake of the expulsion of PLO terrorists following the 1982 Israeli invasion. By some accounts, of the 375,218 Palestinians registered as refugees with UNRWA in Lebanon, only some 200,000 remain, over half of them living in refugee camps; others have fled from the inhospitable conditions that successive Lebanese governments have sustained over the last two decades. A constant complaint of the Palestinians left in Lebanon is that there are restrictions on their right to work, and without work permits they are denied many benefits, including medical insurance. As for where they are allowed to work, they cannot be doctors, pharmacists, engineers, lawyers or journalists. Sounds like the word apartheid would aptly describe the position of Palestinians in Lebanon!!
Initially the response of host Arab states to the incoming Palestinian refugees from Lebanon was to offer them refuge on the assumption that it would be temporary. When it became obvious that the problem would be protracted, the policies of Arab states toward the refugees changed, and the initial sympathy was coupled with an insistence on Israel’s ultimate responsibility for them. As a result most Arab governments strongly opposed resettlement and naturalization of the refugees. Instead, they adopted policies and procedures aimed at preserving the Palestinian identity of the individuals and their status as refugees.
Among countries that have either expelled Palestinians or made them very unwelcome are Syria, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan and Libya. They are the only refugee group not to be granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia. Kuwait expelled tens of thousands in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War when the Palestinian leadership backed Saddam Hussein and his oppressive policies. Egypt denies access to many Palestinians. Libya failed to renew residence permits for 30,000 Palestinians in 1995 and began deporting them when they were annoyed by Arafat’s feeble attempts to reach a peace treaty with Israel.
In addition to that the Arab countries including the very rich oil states have consistently failed to make any meaningful contribution to the welfare of the Palestinians, preferring to leave that responsibility to to the international community, the USA, the European Union, and even Israel. Where are the pressure groups such as UNWRA, Human Rights Watch, B’tselem, Jews for Justice for the Palestinians and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign when it comes to fighting for the rights of the Palestinians in Arab countries. I leave you to draw your own conclusions about the hidden agenda behind the protests being confined only to Israel!
When people talk about the plight of the Palestinian refugees you should respond with some simple questions; Why are there still refugees in camps - Why have they been kept as political pawns – Why did the UN pass a resolution banning Israel from improving housing conditions for the refugees in Gaza - and finally and most importantly, Where is all the money that the international community including the UK and the USA have donated to improve the living conditions and infrastructure in the Palestinian authority area. If it had been used as intended instead of stashed away in private bank accounts or used to pay terrorists and fund weapons, then the Palestinians would have a better standard of living and much of the unrest need not have festered.
