No Future for the Palestinians in Lebanon: Power Sharing, Political Stagnancy and Securitisation of (Palestinian) Migration

Abstract

This chapter investigates three questions related to Palestine refugees in Lebanon: (1) What is their current situation, (2) how are they affected by the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, and (3) what is their perspectives for the future? After a brief sketch of the history of Lebanon, the political situation is analysed, where it is concluded that the political elite primarily is occupied by power politics among themselves. This has a consequence that the governance system is almost politically paralysed when it comes to developing necessary social and economic reforms, leaving it to Lebanese society and the international donor community to handle the refugee crisis. Based on field studies in Lebanon, including in Palestine refugee camps, the situation for Palestinians is described and the ‘Palestinian protection gap’ in terms of human rights is discussed. The chapter concludes that the Syrian crisis has resulted in significant social, economic and political pressure on Palestinians, making their situation concerning protection critical. It further concludes that even if Lebanon on the surface appears to be a cosmopolitan and liberal society, there exists a grim human rights situation concerning migrants in general and Palestinian refugees in particular. As the perspectives for a two-state solution in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict seems further away than ever, the chapter end with a question: What are the prospects for Palestine refugees?