Why won’t Arab governments give money for Lebanese Palestinians?

Leila Shahid: An urgent call for aid for Nahr el Bared in Lebanon (Comment is free)

Leila Shahid (PLO representative to the UN) on the failure of Arab governments (as opposed to organisations) to come forward with money to reconstruct the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian camp in Lebanon. Since the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) appealed for new money, on 11th Sept this year, only the USA has come foward with new money, and as a general trend, Luxembourg gives more money to UNRWA than any Arab government, and Norway gives more than all of them combined.

(Still, I personally wonder why Nahr el-Bared cannot be closed and those who lived there integrated into Lebanese society, given that it has been there for more than most of its inhabitants lifetimes. They should not be keeping the “refugees” in limbo as if Israel really were to be wiped off the map tomorrow. The reason seems to be the unwillingness to upset the balance of power between the various religious groups in Lebanon, as most of the refugees are Sunni Muslims who are a minority in Lebanon, coupled with negative Lebanese attitudes to Palestinians, which I have heard personally even from Lebanese in London.)

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