The Plo and the Refugees in Lebanon

The PLO and the refugees in Lebanon

The formation of the state of Israel in 1948 was a turning point for the Palestinians as thousands of them were forced to seek new places to establish in other Arab countries, such as Lebanon, which had traditionally been characterized for being a politically divided country among different religious groups. After the defeat of the Arab forces against Israel in 1967, in which the latter took control of all Palestine, there was a new wave of approximately 400,000 Palestinian refugees into Lebanon (Fraser, 1995, p. 77). The war also represented a big loss for Jordan as it lost the West Bank and the headwaters of the Jordan River.

Palestinians suffered the consequences of a government that denied them some of the basic human rights, such as the right to work, access to education and health. More significantly, the government did not give them any civil rights and confined them to refugee camps in specific parts of the country under deplorable conditions. On the other hand, the presence of refugees represented a form of cohesion in an otherwise divided Lebanese society.

In 1969, president Nasser of Egypt pressured Lebanon into signing the Cairo Agreement. The agreement legitimized the PLO's presence in the country, allowing it to carry out military operations in certain parts of the country as well as to have full control over the Palestinian civilians living there. It granted the PLO areas of operation beyond effective control of the Lebanese government and in turn, it gave extraterritorial status and freedom of action in the refugee camps, creating a "state-within-a-state" with important repercussions to the Lebanese government and society.

Beginning 1970, tensions between the PLO and Jordan came to a head. King Hussein turned his army against the Palestinians with the intention to destroy their forces. After the civil war and the suppression of the PLO, more refugees and members of the organization moved to Lebanon where they found the perfect place to continue its resistance against the Israelis.

Palestinian presence in south Lebanon became a significant issue affecting the country not only at a national level, but also in its relations with other countries of the region. More importantly, it played a fundamental role in the Arab-Israeli conflict and in the Palestinian struggle itself. It exacerbated the problems of the fragile balance of power among sectarian groups and soon it became part of internal struggles for power during the civil war. Moreover, PLO's presence in Lebanon was the main factor for the intervention of Israel in 1982 which culminated in the withdrawal of the PLO from Beirut.

It is necessary to analyze the situation of the PLO in Lebanon and how it later on shaped its prominent position as a "state within a state". The involvement of the PLO during the Civil War of 1975-76, the Invasion of Israel and the consequent policies that the Lebanese government has had after 1982 towards the refugees will be analyzed. From there I will address the implications and consequences for the Lebanese government. It will do so at a domestic and to some extent, at a regional level. First, the impact that the refugee camps had within the country, focusing on the implications of changes in sectarian demography. From this point, some questions must be taken into account: considering that Lebanon has no majority, is it possible to think that there has been a shift in the status of the Palestinians from refugees to a minority? If that was the case, what would be the implications for the Lebanese government?

From the Palestinian perspective, different solutions would bring about several outcomes. In broader terms, a naturalization process of Palestinians in Lebanon would cause a setback in the resistance and goals that they have tried to achieve for years: the return to their land. On the other hand, the need to cover the basic needs as human beings has somehow forced some of them to naturalize, which at the same time has brought about factionalism and sense of betrayal among the refugees. What has been the general response from civil society with regard of this situation? From there I will try to explain the consequences of repatriation, resettlement and integration.

The PLO

In 1963 Israel's plans to channel the waters of the Jordan River down to Negov were followed by a strong reaction from the Arab World. President Nasser of Egypt organized a summit whose goal was the creation of an organization in charge of decision making for the Palestinians. In 1964 the leaders of the Arab League met in Cairo to formally establish the PLO. Its main objective was the destruction of the state of Israel and its activities. PLO's activities would be governed by the Palestine National Charter