Granting the Palestinians their civil rights does not mean settlement, because these are human rights that should be granted to all human beings, whether Palestinians or otherwise. Any person has the right to emigrate to any country and to lead an honorable life.

The Palestinian refugees have acquired some rights in Lebanon and mainly in the last period, when Lebanon issued a set of laws granting the Palestinian refugees the right to work and own property in Lebanon. This will help reduce the suffering of these refugees, who are homesick. They left their country due to the harm they were enduring. They are ill-treated and their rights as refugees, provided for in all customs and international treaties, are violated. Now, following these decisions from the Lebanese government, I see that the situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has improved and become better than before. Now they can work freely and get new jobs. They also have the right to buy parcels of land, own houses and properties in Lebanon. This will improve their living conditions and make things easier for them, while they used to suffer before.

The suffering of Palestinian refugees is great and is still continuing. They are still deprived of any right in the Arab countries, where there are many Palestinian refugees, not only in Lebanon. Their rights are violated, as they have been living in camps for many years now. They do not get work permits to get real job opportunities in Lebanon. If ever a Lebanese person employs a Palestinian, he does not give him his full salary, as he does with his countryman. Their salary is lower, and many refuse to employ Palestinians. The reality faced by Palestinians refugees is harsh and bitter. It is an indelible mark on the history of all Arab countries which have not provided help to these Arab families who are seeking refuge in the brotherly countries, and have not helped them to avoid risks threatening their lives or the harsh conditions under which they live.

I believe that Lebanon’s issuance of laws granting Palestinian refugees the right to work and own property in Lebanon is the right procedure and a good step, because it will give these refugees the rights which they should obtain, and will lead to alleviating the suffering felt by the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, due to their forcible departure from their country, and because of the lack of real opportunities to continue their life well. I believe that such laws are historic, because they create a greater coherence among the Arab brothers of Palestine and Lebanon. The latter hosts a large number of Palestinian refugees on its territory, and they must be given their rights, guaranteed by international laws, which stipulate the treatment of refugees in a manner that will provide them a decent life and reduce their suffering. Such laws will make a lot of Palestinian refugees happy, and many of them will work hard in order to buy homes and settle in, and create crafts and shops. Eventually, they will integrate completely into Lebanese society, feeling that Lebanon is their second home, because it embraced them and provided them with a decent living, by Lebanon’s adoption of laws giving them the right to work and own property within the Lebanese territory.

Lebanon is closest country to the hearts of the Palestinians. Thus, many Palestinian refugees moved to Lebanon. Besides, Lebanon shares the same problem with the Palestinians, which is Israeli interference and occupation. It is wonderful to see Lebanon granting the Palestinians the right to work and the right to own property in Lebanon. This eases the ordeal of the Palestinian refugees and enables them to work freely, without restrictions. This facilitates their integration into the hosting country they chose after being forced to take refuge outside in Lebanon after to the harassment they suffered. This is of course a courtesy of the Lebanese government, which grants the refugees their absolute right to work and own property. It also eases their living conditions in Lebanon. The remaining Arab governments must take a lesson, and they must adopt such good laws which relieve the suffering of the Palestinian refugees living on their territories.

The Palestinian refugees have been mistreated in the Arab countries more than in the European countries, which have accommodated them properly, and have provided them with opportunities to pursue their studies in their countries, and with aid so they can live there. However, in the Arab countries, which have little experience in the field of refugees and similar matters, the Palestinians have not been given their rights in order to compensate them for what their country has gone through, so that they can feel secure in these countries, and so that they can have a better standard of living than what they have experienced in their own country. Palestinian refugees are treated harshly in many Arab countries, and only a few countries have taken care of them and allowed them to live freely. They are denied citizenship in the various Arab countries where they live, although they might have spent a long time there, their families have become bigger with newborn members who have grown up in these Arab countries, and still they are not granted citizenship. Meanwhile, in Europe, they are treated in an impartial way like the other ordinary citizens, and they are allowed to live in complete freedom, and they are granted citizenship after some time, together with their children. Obviously, the treatment given to the Palestinian refugees, whose Arab brothers have not shown proper consideration for the circumstances that they and their families have gone through, is better in Europe than in the Arab countries.

These laws are good and serve the interests of the Arab brotherhood, and assist Palestinian refugees to live a normal life in the fraternal Arab countries. For the Palestinian refugees to be able to live in dignity, especially the poor, they should get a job. Lebanon announced that it has approved the work of Palestinian refugees on its territory. They also need to be given permission to own property, such as stores; any Palestinian refugee would want to get one of them so that he can start his own business to provide a livelihood for his family. This should be the case also for those wealthy ones who wish to own homes, for example, or those who got good jobs and were able to save money and want to buy their own homes. Also, they need to provide them with employment and give their approval for that, through which they will be able to save some money and send it to their families in Palestine, who live in bad conditions.

All the Arab countries in which there are Palestinians must give them the same rights of work, of owning property, even the right to acquire citizenship, in order to achieve a historic unity among the Arab brothers.

The right to asylum is a guaranteed right worldwide.