PALESTINIAN REFUGEES VITAL FACTOR IN THE REGION
Dr. Essam Adwan*
The goal of establishing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) through the resolution of 302 in 1949 is to absorb the wrath of the Palestinian refugees and unload any revenge they have as well as to meet the basic needs of the refugees because of the displacement they were involved in by Israeli occupation.
It was also establish as Israel was recent and needs little time to strengthen itself. Therefore, establishment of UNRWA is a political not a primarily humanitarian because it was an expression of the international fear of refugees to move in none estimated directions.
The United Nations has issued another resolution No. 393 in 1950 calls for UNRWA to integrate refugees in the economies of the region to get them in line with the previous target.
In pursuit to get Israel installed in the region, the UN Conciliation Commission headed by the American Ralph Bunche held secret negotiations between the Ring countries separately and Israel.
Israel Stipulated that that each State, that include Palestinian refugees in their territory, to areas them far from border with Israel.
Accordingly, UNRWA commissioner made a proposal to the United Nations to resettle Palestinian refugees of the Gaza Strip in Sinai in cooperation with the Egyptian administration.
A joint committee was later formed between UNRWA and the Egyptian administration and prepared a draft of resettlement in the north-west of Sinai in the period of 1953 – 1955.
The Palestinian refugees managed to drop this project after they learned in the same.
The important point here is that Israel, UNRWA and the united nations did that to get refugees far of what so called borders of Israel because they know the risks of the refugees on Israel since being close to Israel will make them at permanent contact with Israel and their stolen land so that they will never forget about their rights in their land.
Israel used to fear the Palestinian refugees considering them as a timed bomb expecting them to explode any time.
Bin Gordon asked the Israeli cabinet one day: What would we do if the refugees gathered around borders of Israel?
The Israeli cabinet was astonished how such question came to the mind of bin Goryon.However; he recognized that the real danger on Israel is the demographic danger represented by millions of Palestinian refugees, believing it as the real danger on the future of Israel.
Israel feared the demographic threat of the refugees to return to their land as pointed out by Moshe Sharett in 1948. It also worked to cancel the issue of refugees as pointed out by Moshe Dayan in 1967, who provided a perspective to liquidate the refugee’s camps gradually and distribute its refugees on the regions to facilitate security control of them.
The United States realized the danger of refugees as well, and this was clear in recommendations of the U.S. Congress in 2012, who commissioned a special committee to study the numbers of Palestinian refugees and their offspring, their financial needs, and to consider the possibility of reducing such needs in a way not to hurt the interests of America and stability in the Middle East.
This clearly means that the security precautions that U.S. Expect from any move by refugees.(T/P02/P03)
*DR. Essam Adwan is Professor of Modern History, Open Al-Quds University, and Director of Refugee Affairs department in Hamas Movement (DRAH).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
