I will "bequeath" my Palestinian refugee status, "which I inherited from my grandfather, to my children" says Lebanese-born man
Headline: “‘Tent 194’ remains in Beirut until the return”
“A Palestinian tent in one of the main streets of Beirut, and more precisely in front of the UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) central headquarters, leads us after 73 years from the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) of Palestine to two inevitable conclusions: The first is that the international community is still incapable of finding a well-rooted solution that will restore the Palestinian people’s rights, and the second is that this people is still adhering to these rights, and foremost among them return to its homeland, which no country that it flees to it has relinquished [the right of return].
‘Tent 194’ has great significance for the Palestinian refugees who migrated from Syria and for all our brothers who live in Lebanon and insist on helping them in their demands as part of their unlimited sit-in strike, which they began 19 days ago in front of the office of UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon Claudio Cordoni…
Palestinian refugee Izz Al-Din Abdallah, a son of the Palestinian village of Safurriya (i.e., Sepphoris) who fled from the Al-Yarmouk [refugee] camp to the Shatila [refugee] camp in 2018, said: ‘…We demand to implement [UN] Resolution 194 (see note below -Ed.), which enables us to return to our homeland… We demand the right to self-determination and compensation for 73 years of occupation by the entity that steals our land, and we have decided that the second Tent 194 will be at the gates of Palestine.’
Palestinian refugee from the city of Jaffa Mazen Shuker, who was born in the Shatila refugee camp, supports his people who migrated from Syria in ‘Tent 194,’ and he explained to [the official PA daily] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that he came here to realize his right to demand to return to his homeland and to implement Resolution 194. He said: ‘My father was born and died in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion (i.e., the First Lebanon War; see note below) while defending Palestine. I inherited from him the principle that we will return no matter how long it takes. Seven decades have passed and we still cannot return. I am not 73 years old, but I inherited the age of the Nakba from my grandfather, and I will bequeath it to my children and implant in their minds that we are remaining in Lebanon temporarily.’”
UN Resolution 194 (Chapter 11, Dec. 11, 1948) states that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." Palestinian leaders argue this means that all Arabs who left Israel during the war (hundreds of thousands) and their descendants (a few million) have a "right of return" to Israel. Israel argues that the resolution only calls for a limited return and only under certain conditions, especially focusing on the words "wishing to return... and live at peace with their neighbors."
The First Lebanon War – The First Lebanon War began on June 6, 1982 following a long period of PLO attacks against Israel and after terrorists from the Abu-Nidal terror group attempted to assassinate Israeli Ambassador to the UK Shlomo Argov. The war began as a short-term operation called “Operation Peace for Galilee,” which aimed to destroy the militant infrastructure on Israel’s border with Lebanon. The war ended up lasting until 1985, when the Israeli army withdrew from Lebanon, leaving behind a token force (which withdrew in 2000) to aid the Lebanese in patrolling the security zone along the border. Israel suffered more than 1,200 fatalities in the war.