For the past 62 years, millions of Palestinians have been living as refugees in areas of the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) and in surrounding host countries - mostly in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Read More The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has described their plight as “by far the most protracted and largest of all refugee problems in the world today” While there is much focus on the Israeli Palestinian conflict on a political level there is very little, if any, mention of the refugees and internally displaced Palestinians who comprise three quarters of the global Palestinian population. There is also very little attention given to the routine demolition and expulsion which continue to swell the number of refugees. The 7.1 Million Palestinian refugees face many difficult challenges which require greater attention from the international community.

This bulletin provides an update on the condition of Palestinian refugees around the world over the past month. It covers stories from the Occupied Territories, internally displaced Palestinians in Israel, UNRWA, host countries, Palestinians in the Diaspora and commentaries relating to the refugees.

HEADLINES
•Israeli negotiators, including Tzipi Livni, proposed "swapping" some of Israel's Arab villages into a Palestinian state
• Members of the European Parliament and three Palestinian Legislators under an Israeli expulsion order will be j    joined via videoconference on Tuesday 25 January from 18:15 to 19:00.
•Israel uses arcane laws to Expel Palestinians
•Condoleezza Rice: send Palestinian refugees to South America
•In 2007, Israel's then-foreign minister proclaimed herself "against law, international law in particular

1 ISRAEL and the OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Palestinians are continually evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem. Since its occupation in 1967 Israel has boosted its Jewish population to the great detriment of Palestinians. It is estimated that 180,000 or more Palestinians have been evicted from their homes.     


1.1    Expelling Israel's Arab population?
Israeli negotiators, including Tzipi Livni, proposed "swapping" some of Israel's Arab villages into a Palestinian state
During several 2008 meetings with Palestinian negotiators, Livni proposed annexing Arab villages to the future Palestinian state, forcing tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs to choose between their citizenship and their land..


1.2    Palestinian MPs under expulsion order
Members of the European Parliament and three Palestinian Legislators under an Israeli expulsion order will be joined via videoconference on Tuesday 25 January from 18:15 to 19:00. The European side of the link will be established at the Voxbox facilities, on the 3rd floor of the Spinelli Building at the European Parliament.

INFORM strongly believes that there is no reason for these MPs to be served with expulsion orders for simply being democratically elected to government; and therefore invites journalists to be present at the discussion, they will be able to participate and ask questions to Parliamentarians on both sides of the video link.


1.3     Israel uses arcane laws to Expel Palestinians
JERUSALEM –  Israel is invoking an arcane military law to try to temporarily expel a Palestinian protest leader from his native east Jerusalem and if successful, Palestinians warn the measure could further hobble efforts to salvage moribund peace process.


2    REFUGEES IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Refugees are the most vulnerable within the occupied territory. Three quarters of Gaza’s1.7 million, who are still under siege, are refugees, and in the West Bank a quarter of the population are refugees


2.1    UN Report: Protection of Civilians Weekly Report | 26 Jan – 1st Feb 2011
Israeli settlers kill two Palestinians and injure five others in the West Bank. Israeli forces injure at least 27 Palestinians throughout the oPt. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator condemns demolitions. In Gaza, events in Egypt affect movement of goods and people to and from Gaza: Tunnel activity declined significantly; Rafah Crossing closed. Wheat reserves increase at the expense of gravel. Power outages last up to six hours daily and cooking gas shortages continue..

3    UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency)
UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 4.7 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory, pending a solution to their plight. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states.

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