Why Do Palestinians in Gaza Still Live in Refugee Camps?
Did the Israelis force Palestinians to stay in the squalid, overcrowded camps? Palestinians still live in refugee camps, even when the camps are in Palestinian Authority controlled areas, because the PLO opposes and prevents refugee resettlement. As the PLO slogan goes, A Palestinian refugee never moves out of his camp except to return home (ie, to Israel). While the PLO has done its best to keep Palestinians in refugee camps, Israel has done its best to move Palestinians out of the camps and into new homes. Israel even started a heavily subsidized “build-your-own-home” program for Palestinian refugees. I suspect this piece overstates the situation somewhat, but see for yourself. There is much more to this set of explanations; for more, read the whole thing.
