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Last update - 09:38 30/07/2007
Israel to grant West Bank entry to Iraqi Palestinians
By Akiva Eldar

Israel has recently agreed to allow a group of 41 Iraqi refugees of Palestinian origin to enter the West Bank and reunite with relatives there, as a goodwill gesture to the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad.

A request by another group of 10 refugees seeking to join their relatives in the Gaza Strip was, however, denied.

The Prime Minister's Bureau confirmed Sunday night that Israeli officials were in the process of completing the necessary measures, in coordination with the Foreign Ministry and the relevant defense authorities.

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The Foreign Ministry clarified to the relevant parties involved, primarily the United Nations, that Israel does not consider granting entry to Iraqi refugees a precedent heralding the return of Palestinians to the territories - and certainly not to Israel.

After discussion with the UN, it was agreed that the Palestinian Iraqis, who will enter the West Bank, will not receive refugee status and will be registered as regular citizens of the Palestinian Authority.

Prior to being allowed into the West Bank, they will undergo a detailed security check to ensure that they are not involved in terrorist activities.

Most of the refugees had been living in a camp on the border of Syria and Iraq, but a few escaped to Jordan, along with 750,000 other Iraqis, following the United States' 2003 invasion. Another 1.5 million Iraqi refugees fled to Syria.

Thousands of other refugees were stranded on the border with Syria after it was closed, with Damascus claiming that it could not longer support the massive influx of civilians fleeing Iraq.

The refugees are being supported solely by the Red Cross in refugee camps along the borders of Syria and Jordan. Arab states have rejected repeated requests by the UN and the United States to absorb refugees.

Two and a half years ago, the representative of the UN High Commission on Refugees in Israel, Michael Bavli, asked the Foreign Ministry to allow refugees to enter the territories. The request was turned down on political and security-related grounds.

Eight months ago, Bavli reiterated the request, emphasizing that the UN recognizes that there is no connection between the entry of the refugees into the territories and politics.

Dr. Riad Malchi, who is now justice minister in the Palestinian Authority, and Jamal Zakut, a confidant of Salam Fayad, raised the problem of the refugees at a meeting held between Israelis and Palestinians in Italy last April, under the auspices of an Italian peace institute.

The two Palestinian representatives to the talks suggested that Israel should allow refugees to reunite with their families in the territories, a practice that came to a halt since the start of the second intifada in September 2000.

MK Amira Dotan (Kadima), who participated in the meeting in Italy, passed on the request to the Prime Minister's Bureau and to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. The decision to agree to the request came following the collapse of the Palestinian unity government under Ismail Haniyeh, and because of Israel's efforts to bolster the standing of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The 30,000-strong Palestinian community in Iraq suffered a great deal in the years that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein, at the hands of Shi'ite militants who consider them to be strong supporters of the former Iraqi dictator.

The vast majority of the Palestinians living in Iraq are originally from villages in the foothills of the Carmel Mountains of Haifa. In 1948, Iraqi officers stationed in the northern West Bank forcibly conscripted men from those villages, and then allowed them and their families to enter Iraq - but never offered them citizenship.
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  1.   THIS GOVERNMENT HAS GOT TO GO! 06:37  |  Miriam 30/07/07
  2.   This is great! Please allow the thousands more that are waiting! 06:40  |  Peace 30/07/07
  3.   Yes, but 06:47  |  Hunter 30/07/07
  4.   Just be careful. You don`t know who is coming in and what they 07:31  |  Yafah 30/07/07
  5.   Miriam, you seem upset 07:38  |  idf_sergeant 30/07/07
  6.   the most salient point in this article 08:15  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/07/07
  7.   Olmert blocks evacuees from returning to Homesh, 08:27  |  Joseph E . 30/07/07
  8.   #1, Miriam, you are wrong 08:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/07/07
  9.   Hunter 09:01  |  Hannah 30/07/07
  10.   Where will they settle. 09:04  |  Settler Babe 30/07/07
  11.   THE ISRAEL OLD PR TACTICS. TRY A NEW ONE ISRAEL 10:10  |  indrajaya 30/07/07
  12.   Great, Now We Get To Absorb The Sunni Triangle 10:22  |  Efox 30/07/07
  13.   Sad state of affairs 10:36  |  Natallie Durson 30/07/07
  14.   You are correct Indrajaya #11 10:39  |  FOX 30/07/07
  15.   Israel`s policy must be that all Arabs who fled 10:51  |  Avihu 30/07/07
  16.   They are still refugees and have right to return to their village 11:01  |  Sami 30/07/07
  17.   Terrible decision 11:14  |  Avraham 30/07/07
  18.   The right to go home 11:14  |  Bandar Michaels 30/07/07
  19.   # 14, FOX 11:14  |  Indrajaya 30/07/07
  20.   Democracy??? 11:21  |  Sad, but still here 30/07/07
  21.   Generous jailers allow 41 more lucky prisoners in, WOW 11:23  |  refugee 30/07/07
  22.   INDRAJAYA.better PR let them into the paradise of Indonesia 11:23  |  PETER SM 30/07/07
  23.   Sami 11:26  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/07/07
  24.   Playing politics with Humanitarian Issues 11:29  |  Outraged 30/07/07
  25.   Israel to the rescue as usual! 11:38  |  Yehuda 30/07/07
  26.   Right on Efox 11:42  |  Just one question 30/07/07
  27.   Palestinian slaughter 11:48  |  Yehuda 30/07/07
  28.   Another zionist conspiracy... 11:48  |  Bar Kochva 30/07/07
  29.   22 Arab states, no takers 11:53  |  Hannah 30/07/07
  30.   # 15 avihu 11:54  |  Axel 30/07/07
  31.   Exactly Avihu, any people 12:32  |  sh 30/07/07
  32.   At least the record is set straight! 12:39  |  Yehuda 30/07/07
  33.   Axel the bigot 12:42  |  Hannah 30/07/07
  34.   Yehuda 12:46  |  Settler Babe 30/07/07
  35.   outraged this policy is 12:47  |  cool 30/07/07
  36.   To Do List 12:49  |  PM 30/07/07
  37.   Notice Jordan`s dictator won`t take them 13:16  |  David Teich 30/07/07
  38.   A very kind and intuitive gesture.... 13:20  |  Tess 30/07/07
  39.   #30 Axel - still following orders 13:23  |  * BEN JABO 30/07/07
  40.   sh and peace settlements 13:37  |  Hannah 30/07/07
  41.   Iraq Palestinians 13:37  |  dutchman 30/07/07
  42.   Practising What They Preach 13:41  |  Ronnie Wolman 30/07/07
  43.   Blackmail strategy to erase the right of return 13:44  |  Philistine 30/07/07
  44.   Axel 13:46  |  Sarah 30/07/07
  45.   # 39 BEN JABO suffering from a (little) American handicap..... 13:57  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/07/07
  46.   #44: On what criteria is the right to comment on Israel based? 13:58  |  Andreas 30/07/07
  47.   Goodwill gesture?? to enter the "West Bank"??? 14:10  |  Sharif Hafez 30/07/07
  48.   7/Joseph E . All 48 refugees must be returned 14:12  |  Philistine 30/07/07
  49.   #46 to malak-Andreas 14:12  |  Hastaroth 30/07/07
  50.   who stopped them coming to the W/Bank&Gaza from1948-67? 14:13  |  PETERSM 30/07/07
  51.   #45 Dino(saur) suffering from a Swiss handicap 14:15  |  Hastaroth 30/07/07
  52.   to Hunter 14:17  |  Hildar21@aol.com 30/07/07
  53.   #46 Andreas 14:18  |  Sarah 30/07/07
  54.   Cipora J. Kohn and the Iraqi Refugees #6 14:22  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/07/07
  55.   #43 - Philistine 14:25  |  JES 30/07/07
  56.   PHILISTINE.UNSCR 242 Supersedes 191&says nothing of the kind 14:31  |  PETER SM 30/07/07
  57.   13/Natallie Durson: Sad state of arrogance 14:32  |  Philistine 30/07/07
  58.   Cipora #8 14:40  |  GABE1 30/07/07
  59.   # 51 A little bit of history for Hastaroth 14:44  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/07/07
  60.   Why not to Gaza? 14:47  |  Tosefta 30/07/07
  61.   Iraq...the country of animal being 14:54  |  Tamir Palestine 30/07/07
  62.   14/FOX: Indrajaya #11 is trully correct about the Israeli PR 14:54  |  Philistine 30/07/07
  63.   Hannah, no mention of anything hasty 15:11  |  sh 30/07/07
  64.   Sarah, I agree with every word of yours addressed to Axel! 15:21  |  Fake Hannah 30/07/07
  65.   Why not Pakistan? 15:37  |  FOX 30/07/07
  66.   Dino - Why was Hitler stateless? 15:38  |  ChanahS 30/07/07
  67.   #11 Indrajaya 15:39  |  Steven A. 30/07/07
  68.   Philistine 15:42  |  Lynn 30/07/07
  69.   Tamir 15:45  |  Lynn 30/07/07
  70.   # 17 Avraham: British had made a terrible decision as well 15:49  |  Philistine 30/07/07
  71.   # 17 Avraham 15:52  |  Lynn 30/07/07
  72.   Philistine: illiterate in Gaza 15:54  |  Settler Babe 30/07/07
  73.   All exiled palestinians should be allowed to go back 15:54  |  Rami 30/07/07
  74.   #61 Tamir 15:56  |  * BEN JABO 30/07/07
  75.   Rami 15:59  |  Settler Babe 30/07/07
  76.   Bandar Michaels 16:00  |  Lynn 30/07/07
  77.   For these 41-Out of the fire into the frying pan. 16:11  |  common sense 30/07/07
  78.   # 68 Lynn: Right of return will be implemented, soon or later 16:19  |  Philistine 30/07/07
  79.   6 Cipora - One of Many Points 16:29  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/07/07
  80.   10 Settler Babe - In Area A or B 16:37  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/07/07