Palestinians fleeing Lebanon,but UNRWA keeps counting them for their funding

In 2017, a census was taken that showed that the number of Palestinians in Lebanon was 174,422.

UNRWA says that over 479,000 Palestinian "refugees" are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon.

Which means that most of those "refugees" left Lebanon - but UNRWA still counts them.

Now, The National notes that the numbers are diminishing further:

In the past two years, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been migrating at significantly higher rates in search of better work opportunities and a better standard of living.

Lebanon’s economic situation tightens its grasp on citizens and foreigners alike, said Abdelnaser Elayi, project manager at the inter-ministerial Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee.

“Before 2020, we would usually see about 6,000 to 8,000 Palestinians leave the country without returning, per year," Mr Elayi told The National

“Now, those figures are closer to 10,000 to 12,000. That is an increase by at least 30 per cent.”

If his numbers are right, that means that about 40,000 Palestinians have left since the census!

While between 30-50,000 Palestinians fled from Syria to Lebanon with the Syrian civil war, most of those would have been counted in the 2017 census and many cannot stay long because they have to renew their visas every three months.

This means that there may be as few as 135,000 Palestinians in Lebanon. As many as 70% of those counted by UNRWA aren't there.

No one can blame Lebanese Palestinians for wanting to leave. They are treated horribly, they cannot become citizens even after 73 years of residence, their camps are hellholes and they are not allowed to build or expand housing, and they suffer real apartheid with Lebanese laws drafted specifically aimed at them. Now with Lebanon's economy in dire straits, they are the low rung of a very rickety ladder.

One reason the world doesn't care about them is because there is a conscious decision by the Arab world to ensure that only Israel is blamed for Palestinian misery, and any other problems should not be aired.

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