Authorities in Jordan have forcibly returned some arriving Palestinian refugees from Syria. Human Rights Watch has called on the Jordanian authorities to treat all refugees from Syria equally, whether Palestinian or Syrian.  Since April 2012, Palestinian refugees from Syria have also been threatened with deportation, arbitrarily detained, and held in detention centres without any options for release other than a return to Syria.

Senior refugee researcher and advocate for Human Rights Watch, Gerry Simpson said:

“To its credit, Jordan has allowed tens of thousands of Syrians to cross its borders irregularly and move freely in Jordan, but it treats Palestinians fleeing the same way differently… All those fleeing Syria – Syrians and Palestinians alike – have a right to seek asylum in Jordan, move freely in Jordan, and shouldn’t be forced back into a war zone.”