Are stateless Palestinians vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention by the Lebanese authorities?
When asked whether stateless Palestinians were still more vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention by Lebanese authorities than the rest of the population, Jordanian political economist and long-time commentator on the Israeli- Palestinian dialogue Riad Al Khouri who was interviewed for this report in October 2022 responded:
“They were. I do not think they are anymore. The Palestinian case is no longer a major issue. There is a key point here. Most Palestinians have a connection to an armed militia, an armed Palestinian group. [...] They are still there, and they are powerful inside the refugee camps. And they have influence outside the camps. So, this is a counterbalance to the state and private militias in Lebanon. In other words, the Palestinian will directly or indirectly get protection from his own Palestinian militia, even though he is not a militia member. Somebody in his family will be. And there will be balance, let us say, to counterbalance the effect of a Lebanese militia or even Lebanese army or police.”
(Source: Riad Al Khouri, interview record, 7 October 2022)
49 For the purposes of this report, even though this excerpt is not within the research period, it was included since it is pertinent.
In June 2020 the Danish Immigration Service reported that:
“235. Finally, in Lebanon, while UNRWA is able to provide services inside Palestinian camps (for the most part, except when civil war flares between factions), the agency’s inability to leverage on Lebanese government’s systems hinders its service delivery. All the more, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, because of their status and general conditions, are often exposed to abuse and mistreatment by Lebanese authority without possibility to meaningful/ systematic access to legal aid and justice. About 3,500 Palestinian refugees are also undocumented (so called ‘non-IDs’), therefore at continuous risk of arrest and detention because they are considered illegally present in the country. How can UNRWA deliver its mandate effectively to this highly at risk population, when the general environment itself is not conducive?”
(Source: Danish Immigration Service, “Palestinian Refugees Access to registration and UNRWA services, documents, and entry to Jordan” June 2020, pp. 75-76)
In the internationally recognised book they published in 2020, legal scholars Dr. Francesca Albanese [currently Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory] and Prof Lex Takkenberg wrote:
“Access to justice is also reportedly curtailed for Palestinians in Lebanon, especially those living in camps. They are vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention by both state security forces and Palestinian factions, the latter of which operate their own justice system and detention facilities in the refugee camps. The situation of Palestinians in Lebanon has further deteriorated in connection with Lebanon’s weakening socio-economic situation and the prolonged Syria crisis. Discriminatory laws and policies prevent addressing the poverty that traps two-thirds of this group.”
(Source: “Francesca P. Albanese and Lex Takkenberg/Oxford University Press, Palestinian Refugees in International Law”, May 2020, Chapter 3.3.3, Legal Status and Treatment, p. 277)