RAMALLAH, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa al-Barghouti called on the international community Sunday to put pressure on Israel to facilitate transferring Palestinian refugees in Iraq to the home territories.

    "The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is ready to contain our people in Iraq, but the Israeli control of the borders and crossing points prevents their return," al-Barghouti said in a statement faxed to the press.

    The number of Palestinians in Iraq was estimated at 35,000 before the toppling of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003. Thousands of them began fleeing sectarian violence as hundreds were targeted afterwards, it was reported. The United States has recently offered to host the displaced Palestinians who are in Iraq.

    But Atef Adwan, a local Hamas leader, has warned that the American offer was a bid to kill the Palestinian cause by ending the issue of refugees as the first step.

    "The issue of the refugees is the milestone of the Palestinian cause," Adwan said in a statement, urging the Arab and Islamic nations to support the Palestinian refugees.