Why Is Jordan Keeping Out Palestinian Refugees from Syria?

(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - More than 1,000 Palestinians who fled from the violence in Syria have been stranded along the border between Syria and Jordan for the past few weeks, living in tents, with poor sanitary conditions. The Jordanian authorities have been refusing to allow them into the kingdom. Lebanon and Egypt have also refused to grant asylum to the fleeing Palestinians. Meanwhile, 100,000 Syrians, who have fled their country in the past year, have been permitted to enter Jordan. The Jordanians are worried that if they allow a few hundred Palestinians to settle in the kingdom, that would pave the way for 500,000 Palestinians living in Syria to run away to Jordan. As Jordan's King Abdullah already has an 80% Palestinian majority in his kingdom, the Palestinians pose a demographic threat to the Jordanians.


2012-04-18 00:00:00

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