by Khaled Abu Toameh
March 16, 2020 at 5:00 am

"After more than seventy years, Lebanon remains the country where Palestinian refugees suffer the most, where they are deprived of many of their economic and human rights, including working in certain professions, procedural complications in obtaining work permits, and denial of the right to own property," said Dr. Mohsen Saleh, Director-General of the Zaitouna Center for Studies in Beirut.

"The continued restrictions on Palestinian refugees, which deny them their right to work, lead to feelings of injustice and oppression. This leaves them open to extremism and social problems. They can be exploited, which harms Lebanon and its security and relative stability. Hence, allowing Palestinian refugees to work in decent conditions is a political, security and social imperative for Lebanon, as well as an economic need."

Palestinians are now worried that, in addition to the discriminatory and apartheid measures, the Lebanese authorities may confine them to their refugee camps on the pretext of fighting the coronavirus. They are concerned that Geagea's "racist" call for imposing a lockdown on their refugee camps would severely aggravate the humanitarian and health conditions of the Palestinians.
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