Palestinians in Lebanon

Palestinians in Lebanon include the Palestinian refugees who fled to Lebanon during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, their descendants, the Palestinian militias which resided in Lebanon in the 1970s and 1980s, and Palestinian nationals who moved to Lebanon from countries experiencing conflict, such as Syria. There are roughly 3,000 registered Palestinians and their descendants who hold no identification cards, including refugees of the 1967 Naksa. Many Palestinians in Lebanon are refugees and their descendants, who have been barred from naturalisation, retaining stateless refugee status. However, some Palestinians, mostly Christian women, have received Lebanese citizenship, in some cases through marriage with Lebanese nationals.

In 2017, a census by the Lebanese government counted 174,000 Palestinians in Lebanon.^[3] Estimates of the number of Palestinians in Lebanon ranged from 260,000 to 400,000 in 2011.^[4] Human Rights Watch estimated 300,000 in 2011.^[5] The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) counted 475,075 registered Palestine refugees as of 31 December 2019.^[2] As part of its 2021 crisis response, UNRWA, estimated 180,000 Palestinian residents of Lebanon plus 27,700 Palestinian residents of Syria.^[6]

Most Palestinians in Lebanon do not have Lebanese citizenship and therefore do not have Lebanese identity cards, which would entitle them to government services, such as health and education. They are also legally barred from owning property^[7] or entering a list of desirable occupations.^[8] Employment requires a government-issued work permit, and, according to the New York Times in 2011, although "Lebanon hands out and renews hundreds of thousands of work permits every year to people from Africa, Asia and other Arab countries... until now, only a handful have been given" to Palestinians.^[4] Palestinians in Lebanon also have to heavily rely on the UNRWA for basic services such as healthcare and education, because they are not granted much access to the social services the Lebanese government provides.^[9] This reliance on healthcare and education does not guarantee that this reliance has always been visible, oftentimes UNRWA for instance was not allowed to enter certain areas, this was especially the case when tensions were high.^[10] Nonetheless, while UNRWA currently is allowed to enter inside these camps, many critique the manner in which UNRWA operates, they point out towards the lack of basic healthcare or any other form of relief inside these Palestinian camps.^[10] In February 2011, a decree was signed by Boutros Harb, the caretaker labor minister of Lebanon, on carrying out labor law amendments from August 2010. If these labor law amendments go into effect, it will make it easier for work permits to be acquired by Palestinians.^{[needs update]} The amendments are seen as "the first move to legalize the working status of Palestinians since the first refugees arrived, fleeing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war".^[4]

In 2019, Minister of Labor Camille Abousleiman instituted a law that Palestinian workers must obtain a work permit,^[11] under the justification that Palestinians are foreigners in Lebanon despite their long-standing presence. Palestinians are in a 'grey area' of Lebanon's labor laws: although they are categorized as foreigners, they are excluded from the rights foreigners enjoy, and their rights as refugees are not fairly protected. The ruling catalyzed a swell of frustration and protests across the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.^[12] Activists claimed the law unfairly targeted Palestinian refugees, and would narrow down an already limited set of employment opportunities.^[13]