Israel Matzav

'Thousands' protest for 'Palestinian' rights in Lebanon

The true tragedy of the 'Palestinians' is not that they left their homes in Israel 62 years ago, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. The true tragedy is that 62 years later they are largely still in refugee camps because the Arab countries are holding them hostage in the hope of sending them back to what is now Israel. Compare that to Israel, which absorbed more than 800,000 Jewish refugees who were expelled from Arab countries in the 1950's and 1960's.

Each Arab country has its own way of making sure that the 'Palestinians' who live in that country never feel at home. In Lebanon, that is done by excluding them from work in nearly every profession. On Sunday, there was a protest in Beirut to demand basic rights for the 'Palestinians' who live in Lebanon. After 62 years, could they be waking up?

"As Palestinians in Lebanon we have no rights. We just want to live with dignity," said Palestinian Imtithal Abu Samra, 29, who lives in the Beddawi refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Some 425,000 Palestinians are registered as refugees in Lebanon by UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees. Many live in 12 camps across Lebanon in conditions the U.N. has described as deplorable and appalling.

Palestinians in Lebanon are barred from working in dozens of professions and are generally paid lower wages than their Lebanese counterparts when they do find jobs. They are not allowed to benefit from public social or medical services.

Proposals for a draft law due to be debated in parliament in a few weeks would give Palestinians the right to own a residential apartment and would legalise work rights.

The protesters had planned to demonstrate in front of parliament but Lebanese soldiers prevented them from congregating there. Instead they gathered in front of U.N. headquarters, a few hundred metres away.

"Palestinians have been here for 62 years. Their (condition) is unacceptable," said Dalia, a Lebanese assistant researcher. "Civil rights should be given to anyone regardless of their religion, sect or nationality," she said.

...

The issue of granting Palestinian more rights has raised worries it would promote 'naturalisation', which some politicians fear will upset Lebanon's delicate sectarian and demographic balance. Most Palestinians are Sunni Muslims.

The proposals have faced hurdles in parliament because of Christian lawmakers' fears that granting these rights would eventually lead to their permanent resettlement, an allegation refugees and civil rights activists say is not true.

"Lebanon has marginalized Palestinian refugees for too long," Human Rights Watch's Beirut director Nadim Houry said in a statement last week. "Parliament should seize this opportunity to turn the page and end discrimination against Palestinians."

And the world calls Israel an 'apartheid' state.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:45 PM