Israel's Influence on the Palestinian Protection Gap

Abstract

The unique situation of Palestine not being considered a state creates a rare situation for refugees who are thereby stateless and processed as such. Through this project, I explore how Palestinian refugees are impacted by the framework the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) holds as well as evaluate the impact of the international community on their protection. I evaluate the potential impact of Israel’s system of international alliances with respect to the limitations of the protection granted to Palestinian refugees. If a significant protection gap is found, what role did Israel, other nations, as well as the international refugee regime play? How have the problems been addressed, if at all? This is an important research question as refugees already lack the agency to reside in the homeland of their choice, only made more complicated by an incompatible framework and lack of adherence to international law. To help them, the UN created two agencies; yet both have encountered significant constraints due to the structure of the international regime. The protection of refugees has now always focused on their security rather than towards the asylum process. The rise of Israel also resulted in further limitation to Palestinian refugees’ rights, such as the principle of repatriation supposedly supported by International Refugee Law. It seems as if without a nation-state to support them, these Palestinians are uniquely left unprotected due to the socio-political climate of the international community. This has left agencies meant to protect these refugees underfunded and unemployed due to lack of support. Being allies with Israel deters nations from supporting the biggest security threat Israel faces — Palestinian refugees. The lack of support from nation-states have allowed for these issues to prevail for over half a century as the Arab nations have failed to offer permanent residence to these refugees or push for reworking the system. I explore this aspect of the issue to find adequate suggestions for the framework. This will lead to recommendations for integral changes to the agencies created for aiding Palestinian refugees. My objective for this project is to explore how the recognition of Israel as a state has led to a lack of international support for Palestinians seeking refuge.