Israel Matzav

Brotherly Love

The Arab world has no 'concern' for their 'brother' 'Palestinians' except when they can be used as a club against Israel. Case in point: this article from yesterday's New York Times:

More than 100 Palestinians fleeing violence in Baghdad and seeking refuge in Jordan have been denied entry by Jordanian border officials for not having proper entry permits, the spokesman for the Jordanian government said Monday.

The Palestinians have remained at the border in the hope of crossing, but the Jordanian government has closed it pending a resolution of the matter, the spokesman, Nasser Judeh, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Amman.

In recent weeks, as the country has experienced a surge in sectarian violence, Palestinians have been increasingly singled out by Shiite militias, because they were Sunni Arabs and because they had enjoyed certain privileges under Saddam Hussein. Many Palestinians were members of the Baath Party, and Mr. Hussein granted them free schooling and free housing, among other favors.

Residents of Baladiyat, a Baghdad neighborhood in which Palestinians are concentrated, say that in recent weeks, dozens of people have been kidnapped and many have turned up dead. The residents have accused Shiite militias in the killings.

In response to the violence, residents said Monday, several more groups of Palestinians were planning to travel to the border in the hope of crossing into Jordan.

Most of the Palestinians stopped at the border over the weekend had been residents of a housing complex that the Baath Party created for Palestinians who fled to Iraq after the creation of Israel in 1948. [The implication of this is that most of these people are people who fled Israel in 1948. If that were correct, most of them would be over 60 and probably over 70 years old. Somehow, I doubt that is true or the Times would have told us. CiJ] On Sunday, they arrived at the border crossing in two buses, government officials and Baladiyat residents said, and were permitted to pass through the Iraqi checkpoint but were turned back on the Jordanian side.

They remained near the border, Mr. Judeh added, and some returned to the Jordanian checkpoint on Monday to try again.

"This is not an open door," Mr. Judeh explained. "We can't just let people in because they are at the border." He said Jordanian officials were in contact with their Iraqi counterparts to settle the matter.

The United Nations high commissioner for refugees has dispatched officials to the border to review the situation, Yara Sharif, an agency spokeswoman, told Reuters. [Why don't they call UNRWA? /sarc CiJ]

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:28 PM