People walk on a street in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut's southern suburb on May 22, 2024. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
In the Shatila camp in Beirut, Palestinian refugees say they are delighted by the decision of three European countries on Wednesday to recognize the State of Palestine, reviving their hopes of returning to their homeland.
Spain, Ireland and Norway announced their decision to jointly recognize a Palestinian state in the hope of encouraging other countries to follow suit, a move criticized by Israel.
“We hope the whole world will recognize Palestine,” said 26-year-old Alaa Ghozlan. “We're very happy about this decision.”
Ghozlan is a descendant of refugees from Haifa, now in northern Israel, who fled during the “Nakba,” the catastrophe that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 represents for the Palestinians. “The timing of this recognition is important because we have suffered too much,” he added. “Today, we have the hope of returning to my country, which I was deprived of but which remains alive in my heart.”
According to a UN estimate, some 250,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, many of them in overcrowded camps in deplorable conditions.
'Our rights'
The green, red, white and black Palestinian flag flies over the camp's insalubrious alleyways. Portraits of various Palestinian leaders and “martyrs,” including those of Hamas, flourish on the walls.
Samah Omari, a 50-year-old mother, also says she is “very happy” with the European countries' decision, and expresses the hope that it will have an impact on her future and that of her family. “People are dying in Palestine. We are demanding our rights ... We hope to return to our country and no longer be refugees,” she said.
The coordinated announcement by Oslo, Dublin and Madrid was hailed as a “milestone” by Hamas and a “historic” moment by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Israel, which believes this decision will “only fuel extremism and instability,” announced the recall of its ambassadors in Ireland and Norway “for consultations.”
In Shatila, men on motorcycles and tuk-tuks weave in and out of women shopping and schoolchildren making their way through the winding streets.
Electric wires and plastic water pipes hang overhead, while laundry is hung on dilapidated balconies.
Future generations
Souleiman Abdel Hadi, 70, a camp leader whose family hails from the Acre region, now in northern Israel, believes that the timing of the European countries' decision “is important after Oct. 7 because of the massacres committed by the Zionist enemy.”
Camp residents are anxiously following the news from the Gaza Strip, where at least 35,647 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in over seven months of war between Hamas and Israel, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the government of the Palestinian territory run by the Palestinian movement. The war was triggered on Oct. 7 by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli territory, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a count based on official Israeli data.
According to Abdel Hadi, the three European countries' decision “is the result of the sacrifices made by the Palestinian people during 76 years of persecution, killing and destruction.”
In another alley in the camp, Abu Majdi, wearing a kuffiyeh around his neck and a map of Palestine as a pendant, calls the initiative of the three European capitals “magnificent.” “It was obtained with the blood of Palestinian martyrs,” said the 63-year-old, “40 of whom have been activists” for the Palestinian cause.
Also a descendant of Haifa refugees, he is convinced that “this recognition will change the future for all generations and for the Palestinian cause.”
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.