Introduction
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is now one of the longest-running conflicts throughout history. The consequences of the dispute seriously affect the international scenario and, particularly, the civilians who have been forced to leave their land over the past 70 years. The main destination of this migration crisis is Jordan, and this article, through a brief overview of the historical background, aims at providing an explanation of the actual refugees’ situation in the country. A specific focus will also be provided on any eventual international obligation that forces Jordan to welcome asylum seekers.
The historical background
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict's historical roots span centuries, with some asserting that the land now partially recognized as Israel was originally Jewish-owned. Despite this, a lack of a unified Jewish territory and global communities led to significant migrations between the 13th and 19th centuries. In the meantime, Anti-Semitism proliferated globally due to the Russian Revolution's attribution to Jews and mid-20th-century European policies. This hostility contributed to the rise of Zionism as a political movement. Many scholars hypothesized, as a solution to the “Jewish Question”, to allow Jews to enjoy their sovereignty in a state of their own. Until World War I, Palestine was under the Ottoman Empire, transitioning to British control post-war through the "British Mandate." While Britain sought Arab cooperation, when President Truman took office, he appointed a committee to study the Palestinian situation, leading to a UN resolution of 1947 dividing Palestine between Jews and Palestinians. With the end of the British Mandate, Israel gained international recognition, sparking immediate Palestinian opposition and giving rise to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinian Refugees in Jordan and Egypt
As the main consequence of the conflict, many civilians have been forced to leave their homeland. In 1948, 750.000 Palestinians left their homes to seek for international protection in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Today there are more than five million refugees that have been registered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. Jordan has been the main destination for all those refugees coming from Middle East countries. Most of them come from Palestine: the 40% of the total population in Jordan is represented by Palestinians. Additionally, there are ten recognized Palestinian refugees camps in the country, and they host only 20% of the total number of refugees, who prefer to settle in urban centers. The first major migration occurred in 1948 with the first Israeli-Palestinian war. Since then, the country has been characterized by a major demographic issue related to the massive Palestinian presence in the territory. Nowadays, the issue related to Jordan concerns its rejection of welcoming more refugees. King Abdullah II of Jordan, indeed, is keeping the door closed on the possible acceptance of Palestinian refugees, encouraging Europe to participate in the sharing of refugees. The issue highlighted by the country refers to the two million refugees welcomed by Jordan, plus the fact that it is one of the countries most affected by the Syrian crisis. Along with Jordan, Egypt is refusing to open Rafah border crossing, which is the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The main reasons for this Egyptian policy are to be found in the insufficient economic resources of the country to face a migration crisis, and the fear of a possible invasion of Hamas militants, who are settled in the Sinai Peninsula.
Is Jordan violating International Law by rejecting Palestinian Refugees?
The main piece of legislation concerning the protection and the assistance of refugees is the Geneva Convention of 1951. However, Jordan is one of the countries that decided not to ratify the aforementioned Convention. Additionally, the country did not implement in its domestic law an ad hoc provision to classify those people as refugees, resulting in the lack of a formal system for the protection of asylum seekers. Nevertheless, through a memorandum between Jordan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the parties established several principles to be followed in dealing with refugees. Indeed, following a definition of “refugee”, Jordan committed itself to observe the principle of non-refoulment, which prevents States from removing individuals from their jurisdiction in case of a risk that the person would be subject to harm upon return. Notwithstanding this agreement, it is important to underline that, even though the refugees in Jordan are subject to the UNHCR mandate, the Palestinian refugees have to observe the provision implemented by the UNRWA.
Conclusion
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been an ongoing conflict since 1948, spreading fear and terror in the entire Palestinian land, with the consequence of many civilians who are now seeking international protection abroad. Most of the refugees fled to Jordan, hoping for a more prosperous future. However, consequently to the millions of refugees who settled in Jordan throughout the years, the country is not able to cope with a new migration crisis. From an international perspective, we may conclude that Jordan is not violating international law, since the country did not ratify any provision invoking the obligation upon a state to welcome Palestinian asylum seekers. However, even though I believe that Jordan played a significant role in the assistance of Palestinian refugees through the past 70 years, I strongly encourage future international cooperation in this sense.
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