By Andrew L. Jaffee

The current infighting in Lebanon between the Palestinian (Arab) Fatah al-Islam terrorists and Lebanese (Arab) security forces is a stark reminder of the often-ignored plight of Palestinians living in the Arab World. In Lebanon, Palestinians are marginalized, living in ghettos. One of the biggest and most under-reported episodes of ethnic cleansing was the Kuwaiti expulsion of 400,000 Palestinians after the first Gulf War. Palestinians in Kuwait largely supported Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of their host nation. As a result:

…Kuwait severed ties with PLO as a result of the Gulf War fall-out and cut its financial backing.

After Saddam Hussein was driven out, the emirate expelled some 400,000 Palestinians, although a few thousand stayed or have since returned. …

Kuwait is not the only Arab country to expel Palestinians, while Lebanon hasn’t exactly welcomed Palestinians with open arms:

…In 1970, the Jordanian Army clashed with Palestinian militants and thousands were ejected from the country, joining their comrades in Lebanon. …

Since the end of the civil war in 1990, the Palestinians have been confined to their 12 established refugee camps, which are ringed by Lebanese troops and whose entrances are tightly controlled.

…The Lebanese government refuses to accept the possibility of the refugees being permanently housed in Lebanon, fearing that it will aggravate sectarian sensitivities.

Palestinians are forbidden from all but the most menial labor, and the Lebanese state bans the refugees from expanding the area of the allotted camps. It even refuses to allow construction material inside.

And then there’s life in ghettos for Palestinians living in Lebanon:

Driving into the Ain el Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon is a bit like driving into a fortress.

Lebanese army soldiers man a well-fortified checkpoint at the entrance, checking the ID of everybody driving into the camp. …

But countries like Lebanon, home to about 350,000 refugees are not keen on keeping their unwanted guests forever.

For more than 50 years now Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been living in one of 12 overcrowded camps all over Lebanon.

Open sewers, no telephone lines and barely any electricity make for often-dismal living conditions. There is a lot of frustration here and a feeling that the world has forgotten about Palestinian refugees. …

“All Arab leaders are traitors, they should support the Palestinians and the intifada,” says Mourad Ahmed Mourad, an unemployed car mechanic who spends most of his day watching people pass by on the market street.

“There have been hundreds of summits and nothing ever came out of them, it will be same again this year.” …

But some refugees have had enough of their unsettled life and have adopted a very pragmatic approach. Saleh Kattab, from Nazareth, studied business management but because Palestinians are barred from about 70 professions in Lebanon, he took over his father’s butcher shop. …

Hat-tip to Gary.

   

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Related: Arab/Muslim World, Palestinians, Lebanon, Human Rights

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