Revisiting Politics in Spaces ‘Beyond the Center’: The Shātīlā Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon

Abstract

Soon after the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011 calling for the reform of the regime,1 a large banner appeared in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shātllā, in a southern suburb of Beirut, showing Bashār Al-Asad in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque of Jerusalem beneath the slogan: ‘We are with the Palestinian cause.’ However, the banner—which had been hung by Syrian-backed Palestinian political factions—was soon removed following a tacit agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) political factions in order to avoid internal conflicts in the camp.