Lebanon's Outlawing of Palestinian Civil Rights Risks Igniting Powder Kegs at Ein al Hilweh and Other Camps:
It's half a century overdue for Lebanon to grant Palestinian refugees, now the fourth post-Nakba generation, the most elementary civil rights to work and home ownership. Both fundamental rights are mandated by international law and enjoyed by every refugee on our planet. Sauf Lebanon.
As a direct and foreseeable consequence, half of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps and several dozen refugee "gatherings" are careening toward violence while most Lebanese politicians, some of whom are clients of other countries, turn a blind eye or dither.
One example is East Saida's Ein al Hilweh camp where nearly one hundred thousand refugees, including approximately 7000 from Yarmouk and other Palestinian refugee camps in Syria live in squalor on just 2 Sq. Km of space. Arguably the most sardine-canned population on earth today.
April 12, 2017 marked the sixth day of clashes as Palestinian joint security force mobilized to enter the notorious Al-Tiri neighborhood of Ein al-Hilweh as schools, universities, many shops and the camps health clinics closed. Al-Tiri is a stronghold of extremist Bilal Badr and his supporters, who have been engaged in clashes with the Fatah Movement since last week. The fighting has so far left nine dead and more than 60 wounded over six days, including numerous civilians. On 4/13/2017 a local Palestinian security force numbering 100 fighters from several Palestinian factions, was finally able to deploy throughout most of the camp as Islamist militants went, for now at least, into hiding.
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