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ing lived in che Middle Easc for over
cwo decades.
Many simply rook advancage of che
U. N. relief and food discribucion -
an opporcunity co eat and do liccle.
Many of chese supposedl)' wrerched
refugees
refimd
che opporrunity co
relocare elsewhere. Many have said co
me, speaking of Gaza: ''This is our
home; we like ir here.
We
will sray
here unri l we gec all of Palesrine. ,.
The lsraelis have olfered co serete
sorne of che Gaza refugees in Sinai.
The refugees were offered modern
apartmenrs ar cl-Arish, but in many
cases rhey would not le-ave che camps!
Mosr, if nor all, of the upper- and
middle-class Palesrinians refused ro
live in che camps. When suddenly
confronred with che realiry rhat they
had lose Palescine, they simply sectled
elsewhere and prospered.
Refugees Kept in Teots
The second reason may ac first
seem farferched, buc orher responsible
Arabs and several Arab leaders have
admirred chat chis is che case.
Unril rccencly, most of che Arab
leaders
privately
admicred that che ref–
ugees were kepc in cenes as a deliber–
are policy. Finally, an Arab leader
broughc ic ouc inco che opcn. The
Depury Chairman of che Revolucion–
ary Command Council, Libya's num–
ber cwo man, Major Abdel Salam Ja1-
loud, admicrecl rhac che Palesci nian
refugees have been "kept in renes" for
over two decades as a planned policy.
At a meeting wich sheikhs of rhe
Gulf principaliries Jase January, he
said:
·'Tbe
Arabs hat'e kept t/,e Palesti1zian
refugees in lents. accordi11g lo a plamzed
policy for the retum of Palestine
-
the
rehabilita/ion of the Palestinians in
Arab cotmtríes would hm•e lost them
Palestine for good.
' '
This has been che reasoning of cer-
Street scene in Ain-ei-Bacha, the largest
rej11gee camp in jordan. The camp homes
approximately
60,000
refugees from the
Six-Day War. The }01-danian govern–
ment has provided smalt
clay
bttildings.
l!nfJI
H''*
-
PIAJ,
Tntl,
24