Up to 100,000 Palestinian refugees have sought haven in Europe and most of them live in "exemplary" conditions, a French university professor said in a report presented Tuesday in Jordan.
Mohammad Kamal Deri'i, who is of Arab origin, told a three-day conference on Palestinians of the diaspora that Palestinians began settling in northern Europe en masse in the 1980s.
"Their situation is exemplary because they have obtained citizenship in their host countries or permanent residence status," Deri'i said.
But Palestinians who have traveled to Europe in recent years have met, across the board, tougher immigration laws, he said.
Palestinians who fled or were driven out of their homes after the 1948 creation of Israel and subsequent Arab-Israeli wars and who chose to find shelter in Arab countries are usually considered "refugees" by their hosts.
In Arab Gulf states, where 450,000 Palestinians live, most hold refugee status and are treated as "foreigners," although some have obtained citizenship, according to United Arab Emirates professor Beshir Abu Qra'aya.
Before the 1991 Gulf War around 750,000 Palestinians lived in the Arab monarchies but many left at the end of the conflict amid accusations that they backed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
A study by Iraqi professor Jamil Mossab showed that more than 30,000 Palestinian live in Iraq where they are largely treated "on an equal footing with the Iraqis" and receive free medical and school assistance.
The three-day conference that opened Monday in Jordan, the country that hosts the most Palestinian refugees, is aimed at finding a common Arab strategy for the Palestinians of the diaspora.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency says there are 3.7 million registered Palestinian refugees, who live in 59 camps in the Arab world – AMMAN (AFP)
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