Hundreds of Palestinian refugees demonstrated outside the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on February 17. The protest was against the organization’s decision to reduce its activities in its areas of operation, according to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

The newspaper also said that the situation during the demonstration became tense when an elderly woman attempted to set herself on fire. A video circulated online, showing other protesters and the organizers convincing the woman to backtrack.

“Mam, we should survive. We will survive, and they will decimate,” one of the organizers said, seemingly referring to those who caused the tragedy of over 5.9 million Palestinian refugees over the globe.

The protest came two weeks after UNRWA commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, announced that the agency was forced “to reduce its health and education services by 20% this year, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory, but also in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.”

Lazzarini attributed the reason for the decision to “the devastating impact of the political attacks on UNRWA”, which he said “is compounded by a grave financial crisis”.

Dozens of donor countries had suspended their funding for UNRWA after Israel alleged that a number of the agency’s staff in Gaza were involved in the October 7 attacks.

It is worth noting that the number of Palestinian refugees living in different camps across Lebanon is estimated at about 230,000.

Most of these refugees have relied mainly on the basic services provided to them by UNRWA, including healthcare, education, and job opportunities.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have suffered the most when compared to their counterparts in other host countries, because they have no access to public employment and are not allowed to use public services.

In addition, they have not been allowed to work in a number of key professions, nor to own property or businesses.

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