(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Pinhas Inbari - In Syria, the brutal civil war caused significant demographic changes that can be defined as the war crime of ethnic cleansing, as Sunnis, including Palestinians, have been driven out of the country. The large Yarmouk refugee camp adjacent to Damascus, known as the "capital of the camps," has ceased to exist. A secret European initiative sought to transfer the refugees from Yarmouk to the Palestinian-controlled Jericho area in the West Bank. Mahmoud Abbas rejected the initiative, however, insisting that the right of return does not apply to territories in the Palestinian Authority but to Israel. Palestinian refugees fleeing from Syria to the refugee camps in Lebanon were joined by non-Palestinian, Syrian refugees, who have completely changed the demographic composition of the camps. The writer, a veteran Arab affairs correspondent, is an analyst for the Jerusalem Center.
2019-06-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive