The ultimate taboo? How the Arab states discriminate against Palestinian refugees
“Bullet-riddled houses after deadly clashes between Fatah members and Islamist groups in Ein el-Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, southern Lebanon, August 3, 2023”
Some introductory remarks:
Many people are expressing their empathy and solidarity with the Palestinians. I fully understand their feelings, which I also share. But I must confess that I am deeply tired of the immense hypocrisy – or ignorance? – on the part of many “supporters” of Palestine. They talk incessantly about apartheid in relation to Israel, whereas this infamous term associates Israel – a country founded by World War II survivors and Jews expelled from Arab countries – with a racist state like South Africa. But discrimination against Palestinians in Arab countries is rarely mentioned.
If you express solidarity with the Palestinians, your feelings are respectable. But on a political level, consider the immense discrimination against Palestinians, and mention it alongside the discrimination suffered by Palestinians in Arab countries.
General discrimination against Palestinians:
“The reasons behind this difficult situation will be discussed in detail, including what is commonly referred to as the ‘protection gap’ for Palestinian refugees in host Arab states, on the international and regional level; the lack of clear legal texts providing and protecting basic rights; and the inclusion of discriminatory legal texts in the constitutions of Arab states. These matters may partly explain why the status of rights for Palestinian refugees in host Arab states is more fragile than for other categories of persons”
Source: Asem Khalil, Socioeconomic Rights of Palestinian Refugees in Arab Countries, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 23, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 680–719,
Right to work:
And: “In Syria, Palestinian refugees duly registered in Syria are treated as nationals with regard to access to the labour market, whether in the private or the public sector. (…) In Jordan, there is no restriction on the right to work, either in the pri- vate or the public sector, for those Palestinians having obtained Jordanian nationality – despite the subtle and largely informal discrimination some authors have pointed out (…). Equal access to work does not apply to Gazans in Jordan (those displaced following the 1967 war). These Gazans are treated as foreigners when it comes to access to work in both the private and public sector.(…) In Lebanon and Egypt, Palestinian refugees continue to be treated as foreign nationals, despite residence therein for decades – and, for many of them, despite being born and raised in the host country. In Egypt, when it comes to the right to work, priority is given to nationals.”
Source: Asem Khalil, Socioeconomic Rights of Palestinian Refugees in Arab Countries, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 23, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 680–719,
Right to education:
“In Lebanon too, UNRWA (= United Nations) is the main provider of elementary and primary education through its own schools, which are generally found wherever there is a concentration of Palestinians – and not only in camps.100 Palestinian refugees are of course welcome to attend private schools – if they can afford private tuition! (…) In Jordan, the Ministry of Education announced, in August 2006, that foreign children would no longer be allowed to attend either public or pri- vate schools in the Kingdom. (…) In Egypt, access of non-Egyptians to public schools is forbidden unless specifically provided for by law. Since Palestinian refugees’ children are deemed foreigners, they have not been allowed to attend public schools, at least since the early 1980s.”
Source: Asem Khalil, Socioeconomic Rights of Palestinian Refugees in Arab Countries, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 23, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 680–719,
Right to health :
« In Syria, Palestinian refugees have rights to access health facilities similar to the rights of Syrian citizens. In Jordan, this right is only for those who have been naturalized as Jordanian citizens. However, 1967 Gaza refugees are treated as foreigners whenever it comes to access to health facilities in the country. In Egypt, Palestinian refugees legally residing do not have access to medical care or the social benefits provided to Egyptian citizens. »
Source: Asem Khalil, Socioeconomic Rights of Palestinian Refugees in Arab Countries, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 23, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 680–719,
Conclusion : Testimony on the Refugees camps in Lebanon by a British member of Parliament Gerald Kaufman in his 2011 visit in Lebanon:
“When I went to Gaza in 2010 I thought I had seen the worst that could be seen of the appalling predicament of Palestinians living in conditions which no human being should be expected to endure. But what I saw in the camps in Lebanon is far worse and far more hopeless. The conditions are unspeakable, but for over 400,000 of our fellow human beings this is their life: today, tomorrow and for a future that cannot even be foreseen. At least in Gaza, frightful though the situation is, the people are free within the confines of their blockaded prison. In the camps of Lebanon they are not free.”
Source : https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/11/30/palestinians-israel-settlements-arab-countries-refugees/
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Baudry Pierre (November 15, 2023). The ultimate taboo? How the Arab states discriminate against Palestinian refugees. Deciphering international politics - religion, economics and international affairs. Retrieved March 18, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/tl3n