 UNDERSTANDING STATELESSNESS IN THE SYRIA REFUGEE CONTEXT appeared to have the strongest understanding of these groups, as they had also encountered stateless Kurdish refugees in Iraq a decade before the Syria crisis, in the aftermath of the ‘Alqamishli riots’.240 However, in depth knowledge of the issue, such as what the differences between Ajanib and Maktoum were and what documents they may possess, was lacking among many of the stakeholders interviewed. 5.1.2 PALESTINIAN REFUGEES FROM SYRIA (PRS) In Syria, before the conflict there were over half a million Palestinians registered with UNRWA in Syria as Palestine refugees,241 and many more Palestinians who lived in Syria but were not registered or eligible for registration with UNRWA. Palestinians often had unique documents, such as a specific ID for Palestine refugees and the Palestinian travel document – a document issued by Syria to Palestinians who habitually resided on the territory, in lieu of a national passport, but not denoting nationality. Due to the conflict many have now dispersed to neighbouring countries and beyond. 5.1.2.1 General Population of PRS Palestinians refugees have been displaced across the region (often several times due to various conflicts) since 1948. Their protracted displacement is a challenging issue for them. Nearly half a million stateless Palestinians are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon and 2.1 million in Jordan.242 It is important to note that the majority of Palestine refugees residing in Jordan have been granted Jordanian nationality – but this does not apply to PRS who have fled from Syria, who have not been granted nationality in Jordan. As of 31 August 2016, there are also an estimated 30,000 PRS registered with UNRWA in Lebanon who have fled from Syria, the vast majority from Damascus.243 Approximately 15,500 PRS are estimated to reside in Jordan.244 In these countries where UNRWA operates, eligibility for UNRWA services – like registration with UNHCR for other refugees – plays a central role in the protection of PRS.245 In neighbouring countries where UNRWA does not operate,246 there has historically been a far smaller PRS presence and this is mirrored in the current displacement context. Estimates show that although 10,000 PRS have entered Turkey, only 3,500 are currently residing in the country (the majority having moved onwards, mainly to Europe),247 whilst the figures in KRI and Egypt are likely to be lower still. In Turkey, PRS are granted the same registration and protection via the Temporary Protection Identification Card as Syrian nationals.248 Nevertheless, it has been 240 For more information please see J. Tejel. ‘The Qamishli revolt, 2004: the marker of a new era for Kurds in Syria’, in Syria’s Kurds: History, Politics and Society, Routledge, 2009, pages 108–132. 241 UNRWA, ‘Where We Work: Syria’, available at: http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/syria; UNRWA’s consolidated eligibility and registration instructions define Palestine refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period of 1st June 1946 to 15th May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict. (…) descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are [also] eligible for registration”; UNRWA, Consolidated Eligibility and Registration Instructions (CERI), 2009, available at: http://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/ files/2010011995652.pdf, page 3. 242 UNRWA, ‘Where we work: Syria’, supra n241. 243 UNHCR, Refugees from Syria: Lebanon, 2015, available at: https://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/ download.php?id=8649. 244 Middle East Monitor, But Where are they now?, 2016, available at: https://www.facebook.com/middleeastmonitor/photos/a.175445796925.124046.152879306925/1 0154384398221926/?type=3&theater. 245 See further the section on non-ID Palestinians below. 246 Which in this research includes Egypt, KRI and Turkey. 247 A. Clementi, ‘No way out: the second Nakba of Palestinian refugees from Syria escaping to Turkey’, Al-Majdal quarterly magazine of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, No 57, 2015, available at: http://www.badil.org/en/publication/periodicals/al-majdal/itemlist/ category/252-al-majdal-57.html, page 35. 248 Ibid. 46 RESEARCH REPORT