Lebanon Grants Palestinian Refugees Right to Work
ebanon’s state-run news agency says Parliament has passed a law that for the first time grants the country’s Palestinian refugees the right to work in any profession.
The bill approved on Tuesday is the most serious effort yet by Lebanon to transform its policies toward the Palestinians.
Until now, the approximately 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon had been barred by law from all but the most menial jobs.
Unlike in neighboring Arab countries like Syria and Jordan where Palestinians enjoy more rights, the refugees in Lebanon live mostly on U.N. agencies’ handouts and payments from the rival Palestinian factions. Those who do work are either employed by the U.N. agency, UNRWA, or as laborers at menial jobs such as construction.