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Lebanon's Laws Pay Only Lip Service to Palestinians' Plight
(Sydney Morning Herald-Australia) Jason Koutsoukis - Until recently, the 250,000 Palestinians living in Lebanon have been legally barred from working in all but the most menial of jobs. In August, after years of heated debate, the Lebanese parliament finally passed new laws formally lifting the work restrictions on Palestinians, but Leila El-Ali, executive director of Najdeh, a Palestinian advocacy group, says the new laws will have no impact on the ground. ''All of the professions - doctors, lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, academia - will remain closed to Palestinians,'' she says. In addition, she noted, "We see political parties such as Hizbullah use the plight of Palestinians as a way to attract supporters. But when the law granting us working rights came before the parliament, Hizbullah could not bring themselves to vote in favor of the bill.''