The group, made mostly of women and children, has been stranded on the Iraq-Syria border for two years, according to UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond who spoke at a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

UNHCR says there are approximately 2,300 Palestinians living in refugee camps made mostly of tents. They are a small portion of the 20-25,000 Palestinians who fled to Iraq in 1948 or 67, and are fleeing once again from the internal violence in Iraq.

For these Palestinians, under the protection of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), the organization feels that resettlement is their only option.

According to Redmond, the commission has repeatedly called for international support for the Palestinians, but with few results. Though there have been 300 refugees settled in Brazil and Chile recently. Redmond noted that some urgent medical cases were taken by a few European countries, but this is a very small proportion of the 2,300 Palestinians stranded in the desert.

The two camps that most Palestinian refugees from Iraq are living in have minimal services. Tents provide shelter for hot summer sun and freezing winter temperatures, and the nearest medical facilities are 400 kilometers away.

Based on UNHCR appeals, Iceland decided to fill its quota of about 25 or 30 refugees per year with the group of Palestinians. According to Redmond, it was a good fit for the Icelandic program, since the country has focused in particular on resettling single women and single mothers with their children.

In the past they have taken in refugees from the Balkans, and refugees from Colombia. According to UNHCR they have also offered to mentor other countries who take in refugees, since Iceland has a program developed for helping refugees integrate into their new societies.

UNHCR has announced that a second group of refugees, made up of 155 women and families, are scheduled to resettle in Sweden.

Resettlement and the right of return

Many Palestinians worry that if they are resettled in a new country they will be giving up their right to return to Palestine if and when that option becomes available. In his statements to the press, Redmond stressed that relocation to escape the dire circumstances of camp life would in no way jeopardize their right to return at any stage, if and when such a possibility arises.

There has been much talk recently, however, on the issue of resettlement and the right of return, and the issue comes up in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
In recent visits to Jordan and Lebanon, Abbas has addressed the issue with the countries leadership. In Lebanon he said the refugees in Lebanon are among those who will return to their soil. In Jordan, however, there is still the worry that a new Israeli leader will reopen the debate on settling Palestinians on the far side of the Jordan River.

After 1948 Jordan had control over the West Bank, and issued many Palestinians Jordanian citizenship. The massive influx of Palestinians has meant huge changes in Jordanian life and culture, and the country stopped issuing citizenship for Palestinians in 2000, at the start of the second intifadah.

This changes the dynamic of the Jordanian concern about Refugees, since the option to permanently settle Palestinians in the country has been addressed on a number of occasions.