Palestinian Refugees and the Syrian Revolution

Relying on statistics collected in the field, this study examines the involvement of Palestinians in the Syrian Revolution. Politically, this issue has generated heated debates among observers due to its sensitive nature and its implications for both the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition forces. After briefly considering the status of Palestinian refugees in Syria from a human, historical, and legal perspective, this study seeks to offer a comprehensive analysis of their involvement, with focus on its political dimension.The findings are based on the field surveys and interviews conducted by the author, in addition to press reports emerging from the Palestinian camps in Syria. References to social media sources such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are purposely minimized given the overwhelming amount of information provided and the doubts on its reliability. This, in spite of fact that the Syrian Revolution has turned social media into the prime source for information, given the tight security restrictions placed on traditional media. Events on the ground are beyond the scope of this paper with the focus being on the role of Palestinians within the Syrian events in Deraa, Lattaqiya, and the Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus. Arguably, these developments represent critical turning points in the evolution of the Palestinian scene in Syria. The events in other refugee camps in the country are treated in less detail, due to the similarity of their context with the above refugee camps.