LF, FPM welcome Lebanese-Palestinian agreement to disarm camps
Long-time foes Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement both welcomed an agreement between Lebanese and Palestinian leaders to disarm Palestinian camps.
LF leader Samir Geagea said Thursday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has always worked towards maintaining "healthy Lebanese-Palestinian ties" and later called Abbas to discuss the latest developments with him and praise his stance on the camps' disarmament.
The FPM also praised the agreement on disarming Palestinian camps. The party said in a statement Thursday that this step would pave the way for rebuilding the state and is for the benefit of both the Lebanese and the Palestinians.
The FPM warned against the naturalization of Palestinians who are prohibited from working in many professions, have few legal protections and can't own property.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are mostly descendants of those who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948.
The FPM said disarming camps does not oblige Lebanon to give Palestinians in Lebanon any civil rights and called for their return to their country instead of integrating them into the Lebanese society, but Israel denies Palestinian refugees their right to return to their land.
Several Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have told Amnesty International that their hopes of pursuing professional careers and building a better future have been shattered as a result of discriminatory laws that bar Palestinians from practicing over 30 professions including medicine, dentistry, law, architecture and engineering. Such restrictions have trapped many Palestinian refugees in deprivation and poverty.
"Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are trapped in a cycle of deprivation and systematic discrimination with no end in sight. For many of them life is full of suffocating restrictions and has become a living hell," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Source: Naharnet
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