Palestinians pass by the gate of an UNRWA-run school in Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Reuters/Abed Omar Qusini.

In a recent piece on the hardships facing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, The Guardian uncritically amplified the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ false claim that, without greater international attention to the plight of the Rohingya, “in 10 years’ time, they [the Rohingya] will be the new Palestinians.”

Aside from the fact that this assertion grossly oversimplifies complex political affairs, it is also wrong-headed, as the current state of the Palestinians and the Rohingya are incomparable: The causes of both refugee problems and their continuation are vastly different as is the treatment of both refugee populations by the international community.

Even though the Palestinians and the Rohingya are both refugee populations, the causes of their refugee problems and why these problems continue to exist are distinct from one another.

The Palestinian refugee problem grew out of the civil war that began with the Arab rejection of the two-state solution in November 1947, and continued with the invasion of the newly founded State of Israel in May 1948.

The issue continues to fester in part due to the refusal of the Palestinian leadership to negotiate a good-faith final status agreement with Israel that would provide for the integration of the refugees into a future Palestinian state, as well as the refusal to dissolve the Palestinian refugee camps that currently operate under Palestinian control in the West Bank and Gaza.

Conversely, the Rohingya refugee crisis developed out of continued persecution of the Rohingya minority by the government of Myanmar, including decades of institutional discrimination and a vicious military campaign in the late 2010s.

For the Rohingya refugee issue to be resolved, it is up to the government of Myanmar to facilitate the safe return of these refugees to their homes in Rakhine State.

The crux of the UN Special Rapporteur’s argument is that if the international community does not pay more attention to the plight of the Rohingya, they will become the “new Palestinians.”

The entire claim is a misnomer, however, as the Palestinians are the beneficiaries of special international attention that other refugee populations are not privy to.

For example, unlike other refugees, the Palestinians have an entire UN aid agency (UNRWA) solely dedicated to their social welfare. As well, UNRWA allows Palestinian refugees and their descendants to retain their refugee status, something that is not granted to other refugee populations.

In addition, a 2017 study found that per refugee, Palestinian refugees receive four times more financial aid than other refugee populations.

Thus, the Special Rapporteur’s claim that a lack of international attention will lead to a situation akin to that of the Palestinian refugees is a distortion of reality that is rooted in fantasy.

As can be seen from the above, the attempt by the UN Special Rapporteur to equate the Palestinian refugee issue and the Rohingya refugee crisis is foolish and demonstrably false.

Unfortunately, this did not stop The Guardian from uncritically parroting him and even making his claim the subject of its headline.