Hope for Palestinian-Lebanese Relations

BEIRUT -- The new Lebanese government would do well to put high on its agenda one of the chronic stress points in the country. It is one that now may see glimmers of hope of resolution: Palestinian-Lebanese relations. This is one of the thorniest issues in a country that has been one of the most turbulent areas in the Middle East for the past half-century. It would be totally irresponsible to allow it to simmer and keep boiling 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 decision under former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in 2005 to launch an initiative that had two broad components: work to improve living conditions in the 12 rather miserable refugee camps in the country, and open a political dialogue with the assorted factions that comprise 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 to be rectified.

The process stalled, however, due to the 2006 war with Israel, the subsequent internal immobilization of the Lebanese political system, and the Nahr el-Barid refugee camp fighting after the emergence of Fateh el-Islam there and in Tripoli. But equally significant was the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) statement in early 2008 effectively apologizing to the Lebanese people and government for the past misdeeds of Palestinians in Lebanon, who had often been 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, I would say, courageously) signaled their desire to go beyond past disputes and sensitivities, and rectify an intolerable situation that demeans both the Palestinians and the 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 on Lebanese sovereignty. The Palestinians want to be treated like human beings with civil and human rights (e.g., 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 take place on this issue often degenerate into reciprocal name-calling and accusations based on past behavior, which is perhaps understandable in view of the bitter history of Palestinians in Lebanon and the cruel and insensitive behavior of elements on both sides. 

Several factors converge to make this a moment for change:

• the challenges of rebuilding the Nahr el-Barid camp;
• the development of a new governance system so the camp can be managed by the Palestinians themselves through popular committees, but with security (and thus sovereignty) primarily in the hands of the Lebanese authorities;
• the politically activating expressions by both sides to resolve past mistakes and move ahead to 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.

There are two missing elements: first, a top-level political push from both sides to translate positive declarations into real action on the ground; and, secondly, consultations and joint activities among political and technical groups to achieve this action and the breakthroughs that must emanate from it. 

For the first time in many decades, Palestinians and Lebanese seem to agree on the critical areas that matter to both of them: They want to affirm the rule of law, the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, the security and safety of both communities and all others in Lebanon, the dignity and human rights of the Palestinians in Lebanon, the rejection of the permanent settlement or naturalization (tawteen) of the 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 fellow 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.