The advancement of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, with the possibility of a land invasion, added to the orders for the displacement of large contingents of people from their territories and the expectation that there will be an expansion of the confrontation to other areas countries are a warning sign of the possibility of a new wave of Palestinian refugees to other countries in the Arab world.
In this scenario, a new exodus of Palestinians would be “a new great catastrophe”, assessed the Brazilian ambassador to Jordan, Márcio Fagundes do Nascimento, in an interview with CNN .
Jordan is a country with an Islamic majority that borders Israel and that, historically, has a mediating role in this country’s relations with the Arab world – which, according to the Brazilian ambassador, continues to be played in this crisis.
In 1948, with the creation of the State of Israel and the outbreak of the first war between Arab countries and the Israelis, what the Palestinians call “Al-Nakba” (the great catastrophe, in Portuguese) took place, a mass exit from around 700,000 Palestinians from their homes due to the confrontation.
Since then, the conflicts have not ceased, the Palestinian State was not created and the number of refugees is close to 6 million spread across the world, according to data from the United Nations Assistance Agency for Palestine Refugees.
The departure of people from Gaza, ordered by Israel, could end up definitively worsening the conflict with a new exodus – if these people do not return to their homes. According to Brazil’s representative in Jordan, this is a “large displacement of people in the worst possible conditions”, with incalculable long-term consequences.
“70% of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian origin and there are 10 refugee camps in the country. It is necessary to avoid a new wave of refugees spread across the Arab world, this is a red line that must not be crossed. To this day, the countries in the region have not recovered from what happened in 1948”, explained ambassador Márcio Fagundes.
According to the diplomat, Jordan’s efforts have been to keep the conflict restricted to the Gaza region, in the south of Israel, and prevent the war from spreading to the West Bank and other Arab countries. “There has been a siege on Gaza since 2007 carried out by Israel, in a very serious situation. The effort remains to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the area,” he said.
Risk of escalating conflict
For the ambassador, the entire world is currently assessing the chances of the conflict between Israel and Hamas spreading to other parts of the Middle East, such as Syria, Lebanon and Iran.
“It is the biggest geopolitical crisis that deserves daily monitoring since the invasion of Iraq. But no one is interested in a conflict that spreads across the Middle East, which is fundamental for the entire planet,” he assessed.
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Source: CNN Brasil
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