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** Palestinians: Victims of Apartheid in Lebanon ([link removed])
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by Bassam Tawil • July 17, 2023 at 5:00 am
* "The procedures and restrictions imposed on the entry of building materials into the Palestinian camps in Lebanon are in contradiction with the principles of human rights." — Hassan al-Sayyida, a researcher and human rights activist at the Palestinian Association for Human, palinfo.com, July 10,2023.
* This is the second case within a year in which a Palestinian has been arrested on charges of a "construction violation." On July 28, 2022, Lebanese authorities arrested another Palestinian woman, Amal Mousa, also on the pretext of building a house without a permit. Mousa was released only after she was forced to demolish the foundations of her house.
* Israel, too, has demolished illegal homes -- but for Arabs and Jews.... Israel is not even doing much about the massive illegal building by Arabs, who have reportedly seized 30% of the land unpoetically called "Area C": land that by mutual agreement in the Oslo Accords belongs wholly to Israel. One can go to the edge of Jerusalem and see literally countless illegal apartment towers built by Arabs, as well as smaller illegal buildings that extend south for miles. "At present [2022]... there are 81,317 illegal Arab-built structures in this area," according to the research group Regavim. Moreover, Israel never arrests or imprisons anyone because of a construction violation.
* [T]here is an urgent need to build new houses for Palestinians in Lebanon, "especially since the existing houses are not sufficient and do not meet the demographic increase in the population." Many Palestinians, as in the case of Um Wissam, are forced to build homes on top of the roofs of existing structures. — Palestinian Association for Human Rights, refugeesps.net, July 10, 2023.
* "Palestine refugees in Lebanon face substantial challenges to the full enjoyment of their human rights. They are socially marginalized, have very limited civil, social, political, and economic rights, including restricted access to the Government of Lebanon's public health, educational and social services and face significant restrictions on their right to work and right to own property." — UNRWA, reporting that the Palestinians are still prevented from employment in 39 professions such as medicine, law, and engineering.
* "Palestine refugees consistently report experiencing discrimination in hiring practices and opportunities for employment. They are faced with informal restrictions on the types of jobs and industries they can be hired for due to additional bureaucracy around contracts and work permits, and discrimination..." – UNRWA.
* "[I]t is difficult to deny that the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon have been subjected to systematic discrimination and to the violation of their basic human rights. The Palestinian refugees have been forced into abject poverty by the Lebanese government's denial of their rights to remunerated employment, social security, public health care, public education and property ownership. The argument that Palestinian integration into Lebanese society would either cause them to lose their right of return or would upset Lebanon's sectarian balance is just a pretext the Lebanese government uses to discriminate against the Palestinians, whom many Lebanese blame for causing the Lebanese civil war. The Palestinian refugees are not asking for citizenship; they are simply asking to be afforded the rights given to other refugees around the world." — The Palestine-Israel Journal , 2008.
* The case of Um Wissam not only exposes the mistreatment of Palestinians at the hands of an Arab country, but also the double standards of the international community and all the so-called pro-Palestinian individuals and groups.
* Had Um Wissam been arrested by the Israeli authorities, her story would have made headlines on the front page of every major media outlet in the West. Her plight would have been highlighted by the United Nations, by every so-called human rights organization, and by every anti-Israel group on university campuses across the US and the West. Foreign journalists would have been standing in line outside her family's home while hoping to further trash Israel by using the details of her case. But as Um Wissam had the misfortune of being imprisoned by Lebanese authorities, her case holds no interest for the West.

Pictured: The Rashidieh Refugee Camp, in Lebanon. (Photo by Patrick Baz/AFP via Getty Images)

The recent arrest of a 64-year-old Palestinian woman by the Lebanese authorities has again highlighted Lebanon's policy of systematic discrimination against the Palestinians living there.

The arrest is yet another example of the hypocrisy of some Arabs who continue to pay lip service to the Palestinians while depriving these very Palestinians of basic rights.

Lebanon deserves an award for excellence in hypocrisy and double standards. The Lebanese government hardly misses an opportunity to condemn Israel for defending itself against Palestinian terrorism. Yet, this is the same Lebanon that has for decades practiced systematic discrimination against Palestinians and keeps them in squalid, ghetto-like camps surrounded by barbed wire and walls.

This is also the same Lebanon that has thrown a Palestinian woman into jail for the crime of lacking a building permit.

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