Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sundubuman]

In Iraq that is....Nothing quite like the brotherly love one Arab shares with another.....

Palestinians: 'Ethnic cleansing' in Iraq
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
[Print this Article] [EMail this Article] [Subscribe] [JPost Toolbar] [Download article to your iPod/mp3 player]

Talkbacks for this article: 3

After 18 members of her family were brutally murdered by Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad, Nadia Othman, a 36-year-old Palestinian mother of three, finally managed to escape to Jordan together with hundreds of Palestinian families that had been living in Iraq for decades.

In 2006, more than 600 Palestinians were killed in the Iraqi capital in what Palestinian leaders and political activists are describing as a "systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing." Thousands of Palestinian families have been forced to flee Iraq since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, but many still have no place to go to.

Iraq's Arab neighbors, Syria and Jordan, have imposed stringent restrictions on the entry of the refugees, leaving many of them stranded along the border in harsh and inhuman conditions.

Until three years ago, the number of Palestinians living in Iraq was estimated at 30,000. Under Saddam, Palestinians enjoyed many privileges that only a few Iraqis were entitled to: free accommodation, free health services and free education.

Today, Nadia said, "There are less than 10,000 Palestinians living in Iraq and most of them are afraid to walk out of their homes. My sister, who stayed behind, told me this week that she hasn't left her apartment in the Baladiyat suburb of Baghdad for the past three weeks for fear of being killed by Shi'ite militiamen. I'm very concerned for the safety of my mother and five brothers who have still not been able to escape from Iraq."

Nadia's decision to leave her home came shortly after one of her brothers, Muhammad Rashid, was killed by Shi'ite gunmen as he was on his way to the school where he worked as an Arabic language teacher.

"The murderers stopped him in the street, asked for his ID documents, and when they saw that he was a Palestinian refugee, they immediately fired three bullets at his head," she said. "On the same day, they kidnapped and murdered Farid Al-Sayed, chairman of the Palestinian-controlled Haifa Sports Club in Iraq."

Another Palestinian who fled Iraq and was recently reunited with his family in the northern West Bank described the campaign against the Palestinians in Iraq as "genocide." The Shi'ites, particularly the pro-Iranian Mahdi Army, are waging a war to eliminate the entire Palestinian population in Iraq, he told The Jerusalem Post. "This is a real genocide. Why isn't the international community doing anything to stop this? How come none of the Arab countries has even issued a statement condemning the atrocities?"

He said Palestinians who were still living in Baghdad are so afraid that they are using forged documents to conceal their true identity. "It's very dangerous to be a Palestinian in Iraq," he said. "The murderers stop you in the street and ask you to say a few sentences. If they see that you have a Palestinian accent, they make you stand against the wall and shoot you. These are ruthless murderers."

In the past few months, he added, he heard "horror" stories about Palestinians who were kidnapped and brutally tortured by the Shi'ite militiamen. "Some have had their ears and noses cut off," he said. "I saw them with my own eyes. The heads of some victims were severed and sent to their families. Many families have had their homes ransacked before they were forced to leave."

Zakariya Al-Agha, head of the PLO Refugees Department, expressed deep concern over the fate of the Palestinians in Iraq.

"A large number of Palestinians who ran away from Iraq are now living in a makeshift refugee camp in the Ruwaished area near the Iraq-Jordan border," he said. "The Jordanian authorities have allowed many to enter the kingdom, especially those families whose parents carry Jordanian citizenship, but that is not enough."



JPost.com � Middle East � Article
Feb. 1, 2007 23:46 | Updated Feb. 2, 2007 4:12
Palestinians: 'Ethnic cleansing' in Iraq
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
[Print this Article] [EMail this Article] [Subscribe] [JPost Toolbar] [Download article to your iPod/mp3 player]

Talkbacks for this article: 3
(Continued from page 1 of 2)

Agha said another 400 Palestinians were now living in tents provided by humanitarian organizations along the border between Syria and Iraq after the Syrian authorities denied them entry. "Others were more fortunate to find shelter in Egypt and Yemen," he said. "Just last week another four Palestinians were abducted and brutally murdered in Baghdad. Our people in Iraq are facing ethnic cleansing and this is a real tragedy."

According to information gathered by Agha's department, some 100 Palestinians who were kidnapped in the past few months are still missing and presumed dead. In addition, the Iraqi authorities have arrested dozens of Palestinians for unspecified charges.

A Palestinian man who was released two weeks ago from prison in Iraq said his interrogators repeatedly accused him and all Palestinians of supporting Saddam Hussein's suppression of the Shi'ites over the past three decades. He had been kidnapped together with 40 Palestinians from the Amin neighborhood in Iraq.

"When we arrived at the prison," he said, "the Shi'ite militiamen began shouting, 'We have brought the Palestinians, we have brought the terrorists!' After they beat us for hours, they took us for questioning. They kept asking, 'Why do you Palestinians love Saddam Hussein so much? Why did you take to the streets to protest against his execution? We want all the Palestinians out of Iraq or else we will finish off all of you.'"

Khairiyeh Yehya, director of a think-tank organization in Jenin, said Palestinians in Iraq were paying a heavy price "just because of their nationality."

"The defenseless Palestinians... have become easy prey for the agents of the American occupation and all those who hate our people," she said. "How can anyone justify these killings?"

Atef Udwan, minister for refugees affairs in the Hamas-led government, said his office was searching for a way to allow the Palestinians in Iraq to move to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"This requires a political solution," he said. "We need to persuade Israel to give these poor people permission to enter our territories. This is a purely humanitarian issue that must be addressed urgently."

[sundubuman]

So let's get this straight, Israelis killing Palestinians in self-defense results in universal condemnation from the world's lefties...

and the open season on Palestinians by fellow Arabs in Iraq is .....not even mentioned by the mainstream press.

Must stick with the party line......

[postfundie]

I noticed that too...why aren't the palestinian supporters here putting up posts....? I don't like it when palestinian children die and innocent women...but I didn't hear any protestests about the 20 or so killed in recent fighting between hamas and fatah....

[sundubuman]

Nor will you ever here from them regarding the Jordanian and Syrian slaughter of Palestinians...

or the Lebanese militias actions against them...

Or how the Kuwaitis kicked out tens of thousands of Palestinians after the First Gulf War....

or for that matter, the current ongoing bloodshed between Fatah and Hamas....

nor was the decades-long continual murder of any "collaborator" (or someone who sold land to an evil Jew) something that bothered them too much.

and now we have 100's of Palestinians murdered for simply being Palestinian and where are the lefties???


The only Palestinian suffering that interests their fevered imaginations is when it comes at the hands of Jews.

[sundubuman]

I love this quote......

Another Palestinian who fled Iraq and was recently reunited with his family in the northern West Bank described the campaign against the Palestinians in Iraq as "genocide." The Shi'ites, particularly the pro-Iranian Mahdi Army, are waging a war to eliminate the entire Palestinian population in Iraq, he told The Jerusalem Post. "This is a real genocide. Why isn't the international community doing anything to stop this? How come none of the Arab countries has even issued a statement condemning the atrocities?"


So now Palestinians are fleeing fellow Arabs to reach Israeli controlled Judea and Samaria....


priceless....

and while we're at it, I'm guessing a large majority of Arabs in Gaza wouldn't mind moving into Israel and suffer under the horrible Jewish Zionist government.....if they were only allowed to....

[Adventurer]

[ddeubel]

I think it horrible. With a capital H, horrendous.

But I wish you'd frame the debate differently. I do not think there is ethnic cleansing, unless you agree that attacking/killing foreigners is ethnic cleansing. If that is the case, there is "ethnic cleansing" of Americans and many other "cultures".

Your posting of this article is to score political points and not further debate. Sad that is. I would welcome such articles but without the ra ra ra of -- "this proves all you who support Palestinians are really just unconcerned with human life and monsters!" Not the case.

I would also ask; why are they in such numbers in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq? Probably because they need money. The diaspora of Palestinians is directly due to the fact they can't make enough to live, on their own lands. And also, due to conflict.

DD

[gang ah jee]

We need to create a homeland for these people!

[bucheon bum]

[Big_Bird]

[contrarian]

Hmmmm! It seems the Israelis treat the Gaz and West Bank Palestinians better than the Iraqis do.

[Big_Bird]

[gang ah jee]

[Big_Bird]

[Sincinnatislink]

Could you just link the story? Jesus.