Palestine Think Tank

The Palestinians residing in Iraq came from villages around Haifa, which used to be called the villages of Alhamamah Albeda (The White Dove). Those were the villages of (Ijzim, Jabaa and Ayn Ghazal). These villages have witnessed many battles between the Palestinian citizens and the Zionist gangs. Many families lost their men while defending their land. Some of the most famous names are: Ali Massoud Almadi, Tawfiq Msheenesh, and Khader Abu Abdul Aziz Shukair.

After the occupation of Haifa, the Palestinians who remained alive immigrated to the city of Jenin aided by the Iraqi army, which used to be part of the so-called Salvation Army, which also included Syrian and Arab forces.

Then the Iraqi army helped evacuate them by means of military buses to Iraq, their number was approximately 3500. This decision was made after the guardian of Iraq and his sister Queen Alia visited Jenin and witnessed the situation. He ordered the army troops to bring the Palestinians as guests of Iraq. Some remained in Jenin, others emigrated to Syria and Jordan.

The number of Palestinian refugees in Iraq before the USA occupation of Iraq in 2003 was 30,000 refugees according to UNHCR statistics.

After the exodus from Palestine to Iraq, the Palestinian refugees were initially housed in shelters and cellars, and then they started sharing with other families a number of houses. This was common among the refugees because they were not allowed to own any property, besides the fact that there were no international institutions or organizations to care for them in Iraq such as the United Nations.

The Palestinians were later granted refugee status in Iraq, and started to work in odd jobs to support their families. The students were offered places in Iraqi schools and collages and were treated exactly like Iraqi students.

After the Anglo-American occupation forces took over control of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, this led to widespread chaos in Iraq, and loss of the security the occupiers promised the Iraqis. This chaos and confusion was used by some parties to target the Palestinians in Baghdad, especially in the Albaladiyat district which is among the largest Palestinian communities in Iraq. The Palestinians were described with words like "Saddamists". The Palestinians would not dare to show any ID card proving their nationality, nor use their Palestinian dialects.

They received lots of death threat letters, and were told to leave Iraq or else they will end up dead and their fate will be like their “friend”. Many Palestinians were kidnapped and killed. Many incidents were reported of Palestinians who were assassinated and their bodies dumped at garbage sites bearing torture wounds and mutilatation. The latest statistics report that almost 600 Palestinians were killed in Iraq.

Among those killed

Liza Ali Husain 26, and her two children Rahman Ahmad 6, and Ali Ahmad 3. Their bodies were found 50 days after their abduction.

The National Guards abducted the Palestinian Mohammad Abbas Nimer from the Islamic University at AlAthamieyah on the 4th of June 2004, and no one knows anything about his whereabouts up till this moment.

Ziyad Faleh Mahmoud Abu Jeedeh was arrested by the state forces at Almashtal area on the 4th of January 2006, and then he was killed.

Adel Ateyah was working in his barber shop in Albaladyat neighbourhood when he was abducted by a gang wearing black, he was beaten up, sworn at, then they took him away on the 15th of January 2006. Since then no one knows his whereabouts.

Khalid Mohammad Qtaish was assassinated by Al Rafidain Brigade on the 22nd of Januar 2006.

Arrests:

The Palestinians would be arrested and transferred to an unknown place. Then and there torture begins, accompanied by fabricated accusations for the detainee.

The abductors used all kinds of torture starting by stripping the Palestinian of his clothes, and beatings on the genitals, electric shocks, and extracting his nails. Then the bargaining starts with his family, to release him for a ransom. If they could not find anything to charge him with, he will be charged with "being a Palestinian," some of those tortured are:

Sameer Jameal was arrested from his shop at Albab Alsharqi on the 14th of January 2006.

Mohammad Ahmad Alhorani was working as a taxi driver, he was arrested on the 16th of January 2005 at a checkpoint after handing them his Palestinian ID.

Mohammad Darweesh, and Mohammad Abdelfattah were both arrested by the security forces in the new Baghdad district on the 24th of January 2006.

Cars belonging to the Rafidain Brigade stormed the municipal district in Baghdad on the 25th of January 2006, and arrested the teachers Kamal Saleem, Jamal Saeed and Yasser Hassan.

Interior commandos stormed the compound of Za'faraniya and arrested Hilal Saud on the 27th of January 2006.

Raids:

Raids have been done against the homes of Palestinians in the late hours by the Iraqi National Guardsmen and U.S. forces. Such operations were carried out amid harassment of Palestinians and destruction of their homes and personal belongings in search of claimed evidence. Some of such examples are:

On the 6th of December 2004 the U.S. occupation forces surrounded the Albaladiyat neighborhood with more than seventy armored vehicles, then raided the Haifa Club and detained dozens of Palestinians for hours.

U.S. and Iraqi forces raided the home of the Palestinian Adel Omar Al-Isawi in AlIlam neighborhood after midnight; the soldiers searched the house and arrested the owner without any reason.

AlMahdi Army gangs stormed Alquds mosque in AlBaladiyat area and wrecked it, leaving havoc and chaos on the 22nd of February 2006.

AlMahdi Army gang stormed the residential compound in Baghdad amid intensive gunfire, leaving five Palestinian men and one woman wounded on that same day.

Members of Altheeb Brigade attacked Albaladiyat compound the next day and harassed a number of Palestinian youths.

The bombing of houses

Palestinian homes were exposed to shelling and mortar detonations, by placing the explosives at the doorsteps of the Palestinians’ houses. Such operations were carried out by armed militias and American and Iraqi forces. Some of those incidents as an example:

A mortar shell landed on the compound of Albaladiyat area, killing five Palestinians and wounding others on the 31st of January 2004.

A mortar shell landed on one of the Palestinian homes knocking down the house and injuring two Palestinians on the 2nd of February 2006.

A mortar shell landed near a house but did not explode on the 22nd of Febrary 2006.

Media incitement against the Palestinians in Iraq

Incitement of hatred has been done by distorting the facts and targeting the Palestinians to convict them of criminal acts in Baghdad. This has been clear in many of the Iraqi media outlets, which does not enjoy credibility and professionalism.

As an example, several explosions occurred in the New Baghdad area on the 12 of May 2005, four Palestinians were accused and arrested for investigation, but proved to have been innocent, however, Iraqi TV channels like AlFayhaa, the Euphrates and the Iraqiya TV channels broadcasted the accusations, but when the accused Palestinians were proven innocent none of them mentioned that. Incitement against the Palestinians was continued.

Back to the camps

At the beginning the Palestinians were forced to live within camps in Baghdad, but after the attacks against them continued, accompanied by threatening letters to leave Iraq or else, they had no choice but to flee, knowing that 600 Palestinians had been killed in Iraq.

The number of Palestinian refugees in Iraq dropped to 15 thousand refugees after the mass exodus of Palestinians towards the borders of Arab countries, where many camps were established, some of those camps are:

Alwaleed Camp

This camp is located in the Anbar region in the Iraqi territory, and it is one of the worst camps social and health wise. When Alwaleed Camp was established early in 2007 it accommodated 32 refugees, the number of refugees in the camp now exceeds 939 people. The refugees live within a number of tents, assisted by human aid organizations, and the United Nations operating inside Iraq.

Some of the incidents recorded within this Camp:

Three death cases, those were (Osama Jamal Zuhdi Al-Murtada, born 1977, he died after suffering asthma), Ali Sydam (born 1949, he suffered heart problems) and a baby girl called Ratad Omer (6 months old, she died of anaemia).

The residents of the camp started a hunger strike on the 11th of April 2007, until their demands were met. They requested an improvement in their conditions.

On the 23rd of that same month the camp faced sand storms which led to difficulty in breathing and uprooting of their tents.

On the 29th the refugee Abdul Aziz Mohamed (19 years) was injured due to a fire that started inside his tent.

On the 3rd of May 2007 a decision was made to close Alwaleed Camp and to stop receiving more Palestinian refugees.
The Tanf Camp

The Tanf Camp is located between the Syrian and Iraqi borders. The distance between its location and the Iraqi gate is 3 km. while it is 300 metres away from the Syrian gate. It was established in May 2006. It has become the home of 350 Palestinian refugees who are suffering from the poor environmental, health, and social conditions present there.

Many incidents were documented in this camp provided for by the Aid of the Palestinian factions residing on Syrian territory and organizations like the United Nations.

Some of the events that happened in this camp and worth mentioning:

12-year-old Ahmad Akram Mousa died after a big truck ran him over on its way to Iraq on the 28th of August 2006.

The camp was raided by the Iraqi border guards on the 18th of June 2006, arresting many Palestinian refugees.

The refugee Mohammad Lutfi Alshaikh Khaleel died on the 30th of March 2007 of kidney failure.

On the 9th of April 2007 the refugees in the camp voted to create a committee to manage the camp.

A strong fast sand storm hit the camp on 19th of April 2007 injuring many and uprooting the tents.

An enormous fire broke out in the camp on the 24th of April 2007, injuring 7 families and burning 21 tents to the ground.

On the 6th of May 2007, the refugees at the camp expressed solidarity with the detained Palestinian prisoners in the prisons of the Zionist state of Israel.

On the 9th of May 2007, 6 cases of dehydration and malnutrition among the children in the camp were reported.
Al Ruweished Camp

This camp is situated on the Iraqi Jordanian borders. 550 Palestinian refugees moved there from Iraq on the 1st of May 2003. Since that date they are experiencing the living hell with no hope of finding another alternative, battling against the harsh desert life and the sand storms which keep attacking their tents.

Humanitarian workers in the field had to wear goggles to be able to work in such difficult circumstances. The people in the camp suffer outbreaks of respiratory problems caused by the storms of fine dust, in addition to the hot climate in the summer and severe cold in the winter. After three years since their arrival to the desert camp, they are still living in simple tents and huts made of wooden frames and blankets stitched together.

During the past three years, the Palestinian refugees at Ruweished camp are still prisoners in practical terms; the camp fence is guarded by Jordanian police. The refugees have to request permission to leave the camp to go shopping for essentials in the nearby town of Ruweished, but they can not leave the camp for any other reason.
When a refugee needs hospital treatment, the police constantly guard him in hospital near his bed.

Should any relatives, friends, journalists, relief officials or human rights workers want to visit any person in Ruweished camp, they require obtaining an approved permission from the Minister of Interior of Jordan.

There is a mother in Jordan who has three sons (Palestinian Iraqis) in Ruweished Camp, but the Jordanian authorities would not allow them to join their mother in Jordan, And she has to obtain such approval to be able to visit them in the camp.

Alhoul Camp

This camp lies inside the Syrian territory, in the Hasakah city, 700 km northeast of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The refugees were allowed to live in Syria on the 9th of May 2006 after the Jordanian authorities denied them the permission to stay inside its borders when they were on the Iraqi-Jordanian border in the Tarbeel Camp.

The Syrian authorities allowed them to build blocks covered with metal sheets. All 307 of them are unemployed. They get aid from Palestinian factions in Syria, International humanitarian organizations and the UN.

Many outbreaks of diseases have affected their children like jaundice, which demands care at hospitals.