The Palestinians and Lebanon: An Overview

Last week was the 40th Anniversary of the Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1967. The attention on the Anniversary however was not given a glorious Battle of Britain style remembrance by much of the international media. Unlike many states who often take pride in remembering their victories in times of conflict, the Six Day War is blamed for being the catalyst of the Israel-Palestinian conflict inherited today by much of the international community. Last week's Economist focused their front page and introspective articles on the problems since the conflict. The BBC in their program this past weekend Our World on BBC World showed a mini-documentary on the effects of the conflict as well.

The end result of the 1967 war was seen by many as the start of a refugee crisis that in large part affects the stability of the Middle East region today. During the intensive conflict, Israeli forces took the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Many of the inhabitants of the West Bank in 1967 were displaced earlier after conflicts in 1948 in the Israeli War of Independence and in 1967 there was a further movement of people inside the West Bank but also towards Jordan and Lebanon. The end result of intensive fighting on both sides in 48' and 67', but also related conflicts in 56', 73' and later in 1981-82 in Lebanon and the Golan Heights lead to the external and internal displacement of many Palestinian people outside their initial historical villages. Today the Palestinian people reside mostly in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and even inside Israel proper.

Many of these Palestinian refugees have settled in refugee camps since 1948, as well as ones established after 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in Jordan, and in Lebanon. In the last two weeks conflict inside Lebanon between the Lebanese armed forces and radical groups operating inside Palestinian refugee camps inside Lebanon itself have erupted. After 40 years of being refugees, many of these camps have grown to beyond tents and unpotable water and sewage to become small concrete towns, often cut off from the rest of Lebanese society and wholly supported by charities and international relief funds. The UN mission in Lebanon, UNRWA details the situation of the Refugee Camps, which while having minimal concrete infrastructure, suffer from lack of proper supporting infrastructure, unemployment, and severe overcrowding.

In the past three weeks, militant forces have used these camps to fight against Lebanese forces. Many of the refugees have been caught in the crossfire, and while precise information is limited on the effects and casualties of the conflict inside the camps, it is certain the conflict is growing at an exponential rate.

Many of the concerns of Palestinians in Lebanon have shadowed activities in Gaza and the West Bank. The two main political parties of Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip have fallen into quite severe and violent conflict in Gaza since Israel pulled out of Gaza a year and a half ago. While Hamas, often referred to as a militant group by many of its critics was elected with a majority in Gaza, in Lebanon the nature of militants and their response have lead to more of a push by Palestinians in Lebanon to form coalitions to reject militant actions and cease conflicts with the Lebanese army and inside the camps themselves. In any interview with Steve Paiken on The Agenda, a summary of the situation for Palestinians was said to be the worst since 1967 by a table of four leaders in the Palestinian community interviewed in Canada two weeks ago. It is likely that with conflict in Gaza, Lebanon and perhaps the West Bank soon enough, the state of the Palestinians will be the worst case scenario for refugees for years to come.