The United States Congress has brought up a topic related to Palestine, and one that has baffled lawmakers and analysts for decades; the definition of what constitutes a refugee from Palestine. In addition to defining a refugee, the proposed bill also seeks to review the status of the agency which has helped the Palestinian refugee population grow from under 1 million in 1948, to over 6 million today, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA.
The initiative was met with staunch opposition from Palestinians who live in the many 'refugee camps' around the Middle East, stating that "if the refugee status was not inherited, UNRWA would not have been established in the first place and would not continue to exist." The primary refugee agency for the United Nations, the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) manages all the world's refugees except Palestinians. UNRWA was created under fierce pressure from Arab states to do exactly what it has done, ensure that Palestinians displaced from Israel during the war of independence remain refugees, and extend that status to their children and grandchildren regardless of where they are born, live, or have alternative citizenship.
Sen. Risch: "UNRWA has a long history of employing people connected to terrorist movements like Hamas, promoting anti-Semitic textbooks, and using its schools to store Hamas weapons. It is unthinkable that U.S. taxpayer dollars would be used to help fund such an organization.“
— Logan Ratick (@Logan_Ratick) February 25, 2023
The bill, which the American Congress is trying to enact, is intended to cancel refugee status for the descendants of Palestinian refugees, and to redefine the "Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
According to the Palestinian officials, the intention of Congress in the language of the law is to order "the reduction of the number of refugees from 6 million to about 800-900 thousand, by canceling the refugee status of Palestinians who were displaced from their land and died after the 'Palestinian Nakba' and defining the children and grandchildren of these people as not entitled to receive refugee status". Currently, all Palestinian descendants, regardless of their whereabouts and socio-economic status have the right to be defined as refugees, including those born in foreign lands who hold citizenship in those lands. An example of such is US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who was born in Michigan to Palestinian parents and now serves the people of that state in the US legislature.
Abdel Moun Awad, the secretary of the Palestinian People's Committees in Lebanon, told the Arabic newspaper "El-Nashra" in response to the bill "We reject any change in refugee status. We will confront these attempts through all diplomatic ways and channels, and if necessary we will launch protest movements that will demand the preservation of the right of return for Palestinians." . He added that "if the refugee status was not inherited, UNRWA would not have been established in the first place and would not have continued to exist."
— Dan (@Dan19726) February 24, 2023
Anonymous Palestinian officials told the Israeli “Makor Rishon” newspaper that "it is surprising that the bill is being discussed anew, especially against the background of the global preoccupation with multi-refugee crises, such as the Russia-Ukraine war. The bill has been on the table of the American administration for many years and from time to time there are attempts to pass the bill and enact law without success."
The Palestinian sources further point out that "the bill ties the provision of financial support or its termination to UNRWA, with the aim of denying refugee children any benefits or services provided by the agency, after a break that lasted for years in the era of former US President Donald Trump, as part of political and financial pressure to force The 'Deal of the Century' which aims to eliminate the issue of the Palestinian right of return."
Republicans in Congress are working to defund the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA).
— Palestinian Return Centre (@prclondon) March 1, 2023
Legislation circulating in the House and Senate would redefine who a Palestinian refugee is, rendering the descendants of the 1948 Nakba refugees ineligible for UNRWA services. pic.twitter.com/9a4IaIqETY
While refugees under UNHCR care typically age out of that status within a decade or two, with them having residency status in other countries and their children being granted citizenship upon birth, the UNHCR oversees fully developed cities and neighborhoods within larger cities that are defined as refugee camps but are permanent. Arab states like Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon which evacuated Palestinians prior to the Arab invasion of Israel when it was founded have refused to grant citizenship to those Palestinians and their children. This has caused the number of displaced to grow over 75 years. The insistence on creating UNRWA was made by the Arab states who wanted to create a burden on Israel and ensure the Palestinian issue never dies until the State of Israel is no more.
