UN ALLOWS (ONLY) PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS TO ARM

Camps Spotlight Double Standard - Michael J. Jordan
Armed gunmen roamed freely in UN refugee camps, stockpiling weapons, recruiting refugees, and launching cross-border attacks. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for the "separation of armed elements from refugee populations" to maintain the camps' civilian character. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1208, criminalizing the militarization of refugee camps - in Africa in 1998, when civil wars in Rwanda, Burundi, and Liberia unleashed torrents of refugees. Defenders of Israel question why the world body has never applied Resolution 1208 to the 27 UN refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Annan hasn't voiced similar outrage regarding Palestinian militancy in UNRWA camps. (JTA/Jewish Journal of LA)