Opportunities for Palestinians in the new Arab era

Prof Khalidi argued that justice and liberation for Palestinians, and peace for the entire region, will not come from exclusive reliance on the United States. Rather, new methods are possible, such as mass mobilization and protests as was the case in Tunisia, Egypt and recently in Yemen. Other means are also possible that Palestinians use in this new Arab era, including diplomatic, popular, informational and other initiatives. But a precondition for success in any strategy is that Palestinians should take the lead. In 1991, the many Palestinians working in the Gulf with Egyptian TD failed to find a country to let them in. Egypt was the first to deny them access to its territories. The miserable situation of Palestinians stranded in Salloum desert camp between Egypt and Libya in 1996, which drew the attention to a serious humanitarian and protection gap for Palestinians. IOM and UNHCR had to provide relief but not protection. Egypt and Libya agreed ultimately to receive each half of the stranded persons on the borders.

Furthermore, many Palestinians living in Egypt seek to find better opportunities abroad, mainly in the West, connecting with their social networks. They apply for humanitarian asylum. They manage to prove that they cannot avail themselves to the country of their habitual residence because they risk being imprisoned. With legal intervention (from lawyers prepared with country of origin information and expert witnesses), they get the asylum of the western.