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19 March 2024

Army blockade turns Palestinian camps into “ghettos”

Prior permission is needed to get building materials and furniture into camps. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Nadim Kawach

Abu Mahmoud thought it was time for his son to get married but he was not worried about whom to pick as his daughter in law. His main concern was building a separate house for his son and it was not the costs that worried him for he had saved enough money for that moment.

“Building a new house in a Palestinian camp is like to build a palace in the desert where there is no stone and no water,” said Abu Mahmoud, a resident of Ein Al-Helweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.

“If you want to get the stuff needed for a house, like cement, stones, sand and other construction items, you have to obtain a prior permission from the Lebanese army command…this might take several weeks.”

Ain Al-Helweh in the south Lebanon is one of more than 10 Palestinian refugee camps in the Arab country under full army blockade for many years.

Residents of the camps have to be checked whenever they come in or go out and only Palestinians are allowed into the camps.

Bringing building materials into the camp without a prior permission is a serious offence that could involve confiscation of the shipment and a heavy fine.

Furniture is also banned from entry without permission and the Lebanese army has never explained to the Palestinians why such items are not allowed in.

“It is very humiliating…every day I leave the camp for work and come back I have to show my identity card…sometimes, they search me and my car…only Palestinians are allowed into the camp and any foreigner who wishes to come and see friends or for other purposes has to get a permission from the army command,” said Imad Antar of Mieh Mieh, close to Ein Al-Helweh.

“Our camp is under full siege from all entrances…it has become like a big prison and we are living in a ghetto-like place…we feel insecure as we see swarms of armed soldiers at our doorsteps…who knows, one day they might swoop in.”

At least 350,000 Palestinians live in Lebanon, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of the Arab country’s population. Most of them have crossed into the border from North Palestine in 1948 when they were kicked out of their homes by Israel.

Palestinians in Lebanon have been involved in many military confrontations with Israel, the Lebanese army, Christian forces and Shia forces. There has also been persistent internal strife among the various Palestinian factions.

The latest major confrontation was between the Palestinians in the northern refugee camp of Nahr Al Bared and the Lebanese army last year. The conflict, which dragged several weeks, ended in the expulsion of the Palestinians to other camps and villages and the total destruction of the camp.

Large army checkpoints are seen at all entrances of the camps, with each checkpoint consisting of massive blocks, barbed wire and scores of soldiers.

During the checking process, a soldier could be seen holding a paper believed to carry a list of names of wanted Palestinians. Those wanted are immediately seized and taken to the nearby army barracks.

Palestinians coming back home late night are subject to a long process of interrogation and this has discouraged most of them from staying out late.

On many occasions, the Lebanese government has announced that the purpose of these army checkpoints is to control the refugee camps and prevent the smuggling of any weapons, drugs and other banned items.
But the camps are already heavily armed although residents are not allowed to carry their weapons outside the camp.

“The soldiers treat us nicely most of the time but it is annoying and intimidating to see them stopping you at your gates…we don’t feel comfortable with them surrounding us from all sides,” said Ahmed Ashour of Ain Al-Helweh.

“We feel isolated in a concentration not a refugee camp…the war is over and I think it is our right to have some tranquility and a feeling of security…I believe these checkpoints violate the simplest human rights of our people.”

Palestinians in Lebanon still do not know whether they would be involved in any peace deal between their leadership in the occupied territories and Israel.

The majority of them have come from Safad, Haifa, Jaffa and other parts of North Palestine while a peace settlement being negotiated for many years with Israel would deals only with the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

On many occasions, Lebanon has adamantly declared it would not allow the settlement of the Palestinians on its territory.

“No Palestinian here knows what will happen to us but we have to carry on with our lives…we might stay here forever but we are not going to forget our land in Palestine…as long as we stay here, we are guests,” Abu Mahmoud said.

“We just want to live a decent life…why should I struggle to get some cement and sand to build a house for my son to marry….what is the purpose of putting such barriers….I have never heard in my life that cement and sand are banned materials… in the end I will get a permission but what all this is for.”