Trapped by Denial of Rights, Illusion of Statehood: The Case of the Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon

The bid by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) / Palestinian Authority (PA) to join the United Nations as a member state has complicated the already precarious status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. In this policy brief, Jaber Suleiman addresses the way in which Palestinian refugees are facing the double-edged challenge of denial of their rights and the illusion of statehood. He also discusses responses by the Palestinian community in Lebanon and in particular by civil society.

Israel recently launched a spate of attacks on UNRWA, the UN Agency serving Palestinian refugees, which could herald another attempt to shut the Agency down. Is UNRWA perpetuating Palestine's conflict with Israel, as its Israeli critics allege, or does it provide essential relief and work for millions of Palestinian refugees who were displaced from their homes in 1948? Does UNRWA act as a catalyst to absorb the refugees in the Arab world and to contain their political struggle as its Palestinian critics allege, or does it keep their cause alive and visible on the international scene as its Israeli and Western critics allege? In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Randa Farah responds to UNRWA's critics, while also casting a critical eye at the Agency. In doing so, she reminds us of the different reasons why the Agency was founded in the first place.

In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Oroub el-Abed examines the legal status of Palestinians in Egypt, including positive signs of change following the Egyptian revolution. She argues that the Egyptian government must do more to live up to its responsibilities to the "invisible community" of Palestinians living in the country.

In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Randa Farah examines the relationship between UNRWA and Palestinian refugees in Jordan and compares it to the situation of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria.

For over 60 years, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been denied their basic rights. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Dalal Yassine examines the legal status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the "Right to Work" Campaign. She argues that greater coordination between Palestinian and Lebanese civil society organizations and solidarity groups in the Palestinian Diaspora is required in order to change the country's laws.

The first Al-Shabaka Roundtable was held in Beirut, Lebanon on the topic of Palestinians in the Diaspora. Policy Advisors Khalil Hindi, Nadia Hijab, Aziza Khalidi, Jaber Suleiman, and Antoine Zahlan discussed the different interests of Palestinians in the Diaspora and how they can be secured.