Back to Contents In its series of country reports for 2021, the US Department of State wrote about Lebanon: “The DGS [Lebanese Directorate of General Security] facilitated the entry of PRS [Palestinian Refugees from Syria] into Lebanon during the early stages (2011-2013) of the Syria conflict. DGS support for PRS border transit was never formalized, and restrictions were imposed on PRS trying to enter Lebanon from 2013. Since 2014, entry visas were only granted at the Syria-Lebanon border to PRS who have either a verified embassy appointment in Lebanon, a pre-approved visa from DGS, or an airline ticket and visa to a third country. Most visas were only granted for 24-hour transit.” (Source: US Department of State (USDOS) “2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon”, Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, March 2022, p. 24) The Danish Immigration Service stated in a 2020 published report that: “In Lebanon, Palestinians will not have any rights and the Lebanese authorities will not let a Palestinian who previously resided in Lebanon back in once they have left.” (Source : Danish Immigration Service, “Palestinian Refugees Access to registration and UNRWA services, documents, and entry to Jordan” June 2020, p. 48) The independent digital media platform in Arabic Daraj published testimonies by Palestinians in Lebanon about their mobility: “Abu Taha (30 years old) is a Palestinian engineer born in Lebanon, like his father, where he received his education and worked. However, he recently moved to Dubai looking for a job, before COVID crisis unfolded and airports closed their doors. Abu Taha waited for his flight, as part of a series of flights organised by Lebanon for the return of its expatriate nationals, weeks after the airport was closed as part of the general mobilisation plan to combat the Coronavirus. However, his trip did not materialise after the General Security Department officer denied him from boarding the plane because he was “a rogue Palestinian”. Abu Taha tells “Daraj”, “it is the first time he felt humiliation and discrimination due to his Palestinian nationality. After hours of waiting due to holding a travel document issued by the Lebanese Republic which was not recognized by the officer, Abu Taha had to stand on the external stairs of the plane in the middle of a sand storm, because the officer himself humiliated him due to his nationality, and said: “This document is for rogues, the whole world would not get him on this plane,” according to Abu Taha’s narration.” [In-house translation. The author is an Arabic native speaker] ORIGINAL SOURCE: ”‫تحل أزمة “كورونا‬ ّ ‫ قبل أن‬،‫ إال أنه أخريا ً انتقل إىل ديب للبحث عن وظيفة‬،‫وحصل تعليمه وعمل يف لبنان‬ ّ ،‫ كام والده‬،‫ سنة) هو مهندس فلسطيني ُولد يف لبنان‬30( ‫أبو طه‬ ‫ ضمن سلسلة رحالت جوية أعدها لبنان لعودة رعاياه املغرتبني بعد أسابيع من إقفال املطار يف إطار خطة التعبئة العامة ملكافحة‬،‫ انتظر أبو طه رحلته‬.‫وت ُقفل املطارات أبوابها‬ ‫ إنها املرة‬،”‫ يقول أبو طه لـ”درج‬.”‫ إال أن رحلته مل تكتمل بعدما رفض ضابط من املديرية العامة لألمن العام صعوده عىل منت الطائرة ألنه “فلسطيني أزعر‬.”‫فايروس “كورونا‬ ‫ والتي باملناسبة مل‬،‫ فبعد ساعات من االنتظار بسبب حمله وثيقة سفر صادرة عن الجمهورية اللبنانية‬.‫األوىل اليت يشعر فيها باملهانة والتمييز بسبب جنسيته الفلسطينية‬ …‫ فقال “هيدي الوثيقة للزعران‬،‫ ألن الضابط نفسه أهانه بجنسيّته‬،‫تهب‬ ّ ‫ اضطر أبو طه للوقوف عىل درج الطائرة الخارج�� بينام عاصفة رملية كانت‬،‫يتع ّرف إليها الضابط‬   .‫ وفق رواية أبو طه‬،”‫الدين كلها ما بطّلعو ع الطيارة‬ (Source: Daraj, “Republic of Racism: The Denial of a Palestinian his Return to Lebanon”, 4 May 2020) The same source further analysed: “The General Directorate of the General Security of Lebanon issued a circular to Middle East Airlines (No. 5932 / m) on April 30, stating that Palestinian refugees, who live in Lebanon, are not allowed to return to Lebanon on aeroplanes designated to evacuate Lebanese expats. The circular stipulated amending the meaning of “Lebanese returning “ to a Lebanese family (husband, wife, children) without escorting servants and persons of Palestinian nationality who are refugees in Lebanon. 5. Freedom of movement 55