Palestinians in Iraq

Palestinians in Iraq
  Palestine  Iraq
Total population
10,000 to 13,000
Regions with significant populations
Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Baqubah
Languages
Palestinian Arabic, Iraqi Arabic
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Muslims with some Christians (mostly Roman Catholic)
Related ethnic groups
Palestinian people

Palestinians in Iraq are people of Palestinians, most of whom have been residing in Iraq after they were displaced in 1948.[1] 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.[2][3][4] 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.[citation needed] Since then, with the rise in insecurity throughout Iraq, they have been the target of expulsion, persecution and violence by Shia militants, and the new Iraqi Government with militant groups targeting them for preferential treatment they received under the Ba'ath Party rule.[5] 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.[6]

  1. ^ "Palestinians in Iraq" (PDF). fmreview.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  2. ^ "Content". Refugees International. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Error - Amnesty International". Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  4. ^ Sassoon, Joseph. The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East, Paperback Edition. I.B. Tauris, 2011., p. 75
  5. ^ "Nowhere to Flee: the perilous situation of Palestinians in Iraq". Human Rights Watch. 9 September 2006. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "End of long ordeal for Palestinian refugees as desert camp closes". Unhcr. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.