Viewpoint: Where will Hell strike next?
William Bell, Christian Aid Policy and Advocacy Officer, has written an incisive think-piece about the plight of Palestinian refugees in his latest Huffington Post blog.
Bell details how the current situation in Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus a "joins a wretched list of outrages against displaced Palestinians etched on the world's conscience, which should jog all legal and political counsels into action." He goes on to narrate how "half the Palestinian population, approximately five million men, women and children, exist in varying degrees of insecurity and vulnerability across the Middle East and beyond."
Referring to the plight that Palestinians find themselves as refugees he argues that they "have frequently found themselves at the centre of conflict in fragile host states". He laments how "50,000 Palestinian refugees previously living in Syria have sought refuge in Lebanon".
Because of their "their limited temporary right to remain withdrawn", Bell says they "face a Hobson's choice between illegality in Lebanon or conflict in Syria. Bell refers to the perilous conditions in the Middle East as a whole defined, all too often, by "large scale displacement increasing."
He concludes his article arguing that "real political effort is needed to secure peace and that peace needs to be supported by a commitment to apply the law equally and reduce militarisation."... "To do otherwise ensures that 'hell' will be regularly revisited."
Read the full article here: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/william-bell/palestine-yarmouk_b_7115202.html
See also: ICN 24 February 2014 Apocalyptic image from Yarmouk Refugee Camp in Damascus www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=24245
Source: Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum