page_title: Palestinians in Iraq
section_title: Palestinians fleeing Iraq
hierarchical_section_title: Palestinians in Iraq / Palestinians fleeing Iraq
caption_attribution_description: English: Karama Organization, a local organization in Dheishe, providing leisure activities for children living in the camp.
context_page_description: Palestinians in Iraq are people of Palestinian ancestry, most of whom have been residing in Iraq after they were displaced in 1948. Before 2003, there were approximately 34,000 Palestinians thought to be living in Iraq, mainly concentrated in Baghdad. However, since the 2003 Iraq War, the figure lies between 10,000–13,000, although a precise figure has been hard to determine. The situation of Palestinians in Iraq deteriorated after the fall of Saddam Hussein and particularly following the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque in 2006. Since then, with the rise in insecurity throughout Iraq, they have been the target of persecution and violence by Shia militants, with militant groups targeting them for preferential treatment they received under the Ba'ath Party rule. Currently, several hundred Palestinians from Iraq are living in border camps, after being refused entry to neighbouring Jordan and Syria. Others have been resettled to third countries.
context_section_description: After 2003, the majority of Palestinians were either killed or fled to the neighbouring countries of Syria and Jordan – neither of which is a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, although each country adheres to the 1965 Casablanca Protocol without reservation. Despite the admirable generosity and hospitality of Syria and Jordan towards thousands of Iraqis, and their large and well-integrated populations of Palestinians, both countries have closed their borders to Palestinians coming from Iraq.  As a result, many have been left stranded in squalid conditions within border camps such as Al-Waleed or Al-Karama, both of which are situated in ‘No Man’s Land’ near to the borders shared with Syria and Jordan. Others have had no choice but to return to cities of Baghdad and Mosul. In 2007, UNHCR published ‘Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-Seekers’, which stated that many Arab refugees (including Palestinians) “…do not hold valid documentation, limiting their freedom of movement, access to services and putting them at risk of detention and possibly refoulement. As such, in adjudicating the refugee claims of individuals who were previously refugees in Iraq, the current situation in Iraq is such that “effective protection” in the country is generally unavailable.”
caption: Karamadoor
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