When Israel launched its war against Hamas, Cairo was adamant: It would not accept Palestinian refugees. Yet more than 115,000 Gazans have crossed into Egypt since October, the Palestinian Authority’s embassy here estimates.Most remain in limbo, with no legal status and nowhere else to go. ..Once in Egypt, nonmedical evacuees have largely been left to fend for themselves. Tens of thousands have illegally overstayed their 45-day tourist visas, making them ineligible for public education, health care and other services.The U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees doesn’t cover those in Egypt. And the United Nations’ broader refugee agency said it can’t help new arrivals because Cairo doesn’t recognize its mandate for Palestinians.
This means that Egypt does not recognize Palestinians as refugees because they are covered by UNRWA, and UNRWA is not allowed to have a presence Egypt. So the UNHCR has no ability to help them
This is one of those situations where Palestinians having their own refugee agency doesn't help them at all - in fact, it hurts them. Because UNRWA is only allowed to operate in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan and nowhere else. Refugees who are of Palestinian descent are treated differently and cannot get normal refugee services that every other refugee can.
In general, this works out well for them - as long as they stay in those five areas, they get much more than other refugees get. They get free food, free housing, free medical care, and the cost to maintain their permanent standard of living is far higher than for all other refugees worldwide. But once they leave, they have nothing, because very few of them are ever recognized as refugees.
Here we see Egypt refuses to give them refugee status, because UNRWA exists. UNHCR is not happy about it but this is a byproduct of treating Palestinians differently than other refugees.
It's just another reason why UNRWA should be dismantled. And beyond that, this is another case where the world should be pressuring Egypt to accept the Gazans who desperately want to escape - but it doesn't.
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