The new Lebanese government would do well to put high on its agenda one of the chronic stress points in the country, but one that now shows glimmers of hope of being resolved: Palestinian-Lebanese relations. This is one of the thorniest issues in a country that has been one of the most turbulent in the Middle East for the past half-century. It would be utterly irresponsible to allow it to simmer and boil over now and then, when a resolution of long-standing disputes and fears appears more possible than ever.

 

The moment is ripe to address this issue because of several factors that have coincided in recent years. The first and most significant was the Lebanese government’s decision under former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in 2005 to launch an initiative with two broad components: improvement of living conditions in the 12 miserable refugee camps in the country, and the opening of a political dialogue with the factions comprising the Palestinian political community. The government established the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) for this purpose, and work started on several fronts.

 

Around $25 million was raised to improve camp conditions, contacts were initiated with Palestinian political groups, administrative changes allowed Palestinians to work in dozens of professions from which they had been banned, and the status of hundreds of Palestinians with no legal papers or identity cards started was rectified.

 

The process stalled, however, due to the 2006 war, the subsequent internal immobilization of the Lebanese political system, and the Nahr al-Bared fighting after the emergence of Fatah al-Islam there and in Tripoli. Equally significant, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) issued a statement in early 2008 effectively apologizing to the Lebanese for the past misdeeds of the Palestinians in Lebanon, who often were engaged in domestic fighting or trampled on the sovereignty of the Lebanese government.

 

Conditions are now ripe for all parties to make serious advances on this issue because both the Lebanese and Palestinian authorities have publicly and officially (and courageously) signaled their desire to move beyond past disputes and sensitivities, and rectify an intolerable situation that demeans both the Palestinians and Lebanese communities. Progress requires acknowledging and seriously tackling the core issues that matter to both sides.

 

The Lebanese do not want the Palestinians to be permanently settled in the country and become citizens, to take over chunks of the economy, to be a security problem (as has been the case in some camps where armed groups operated and still operate beyond the reach of the government), or to impinge upon Lebanese sovereignty. The Palestinians want to be treated like human beings with civil and human rights (for example to be entitled to work opportunities, home ownership, access to basic education and health services), to be seen as more than merely a security threat, and to live a dignified life until their national trauma of exile is resolved.

 

 

 

Most of the discussions that have taken place on this issue have often degenerated into reciprocal name-calling and accusations based on past behavior. This is perhaps understandable in view of the bitter history of the Palestinians in Lebanon and the cruel and insensitive behavior of elements on both sides. Yet the moment for change may be at hand because of the convergence of several factors: the challenges of rebuilding Nahr al-Bared; the development of a new governance system there by which the camp can be managed by the Palestinians themselves through popular committees, but with security (and thus sovereignty) in the hands primarily of the Lebanese authorities; the political activation of expressions by both sides to resolve past mistakes and move ahead toward a new relationship; and the continued efforts by the LPDC to address and improve tangible problems related to Palestinian living conditions, personal legal status, and work opportunities.

 

The missing elements continue to be two things, as far as I can tell: a top-level political push from both sides to translate positive declarations into real action on the ground, and, serious consultations and joint activities among political and technical groups to shape such action and the breakthroughs that must emanate from it. For the first time in many decades, Palestinians and Lebanese seem to be in agreement over the critical areas that matter to them: they want to affirm the rule of law, the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, security and safety for both communities and all others in Lebanon, the dignity and human rights of Palestinians in Lebanon, rejection of the permanent settlement or naturalization of Palestinians in the country, and affirmation of the refugees’ right of return to Palestine.

 

This is a rich and heretofore elusive foundation on which to move ahead quickly. Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the PLO leadership and other Palestinians in Lebanon would do well to acknowledge this, and act on it swiftly and decisively. Such opportunities for historic political progress do not come around very often, and should not be wasted.

 

The Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops entitled "A decent life for the Palestinian refugees until their return”

 

The recent statement of The Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops entitled "A decent life for the Palestinian refugees until their return” says:

 

"The church has always defended and supported the human dignity, primordially the Palestinian cause, that the church considers it as an issue of right and justice and human dignity.

Therefore, while insisting on the Right of Return for our Palestinian brothers, the church asks the Lebanese state, the Arab countries and the international authorities to secure a decent life for the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon."