Palestinian sit-in at Ain al-Hilweh against UNRWA service reductions

BEIRUT — Residents of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp held a sit-in Tuesday outside UNRWA headquarters in Saida, protesting service cuts and what they called arbitrary actions against staff, reports our correspondent.

This movement comes a few days after the agency responsible for helping Palestinian refugees in host countries announced it would reduce its activities in intervention areas by 20 percent starting Feb. 1, 2026.

"We refuse to punish UNRWA employees because of their national affiliation;" "UNRWA is our right of return," read signs held by demonstrators, alongside Palestinian flags.

In their speeches, protesters called for "a popular uprising to confront the [plot] being carried out against the Palestinian people in order to kill its national cause."

They also demanded that "no retaliatory measures be taken against employees based on their national affiliation," while also rejecting "any harm to the natural map of Palestine."

The demonstrators furthermore stated that "the Palestinian people are facing a new Nakba," referencing the 1948 Palestinian exodus during which much of the Arab population of Palestine was displaced or fled the area during and after the Arab-Israeli war.

In this context, they called on Palestinians in Lebanon's camps "for a widespread awakening before the national cause disappears."

The UNRWA decision is expected to have a major impact on the agency's employees in Lebanon, many of whom are Palestinian, resulting in reduced salaries and working hours.

These measures are also set to affect, among other things, education for Palestinian schoolchildren by moving to four days of classes instead of five, according to information from local Palestinian officials.

Several protests have taken place in recent days. Last Thursday, teachers affiliated with UNRWA schools staged a sit-in at the Rashidieh camp in southern Lebanon.

Already last week, protesters rallied in front of the agency's offices in Beirut, denouncing the closure of some schools, cuts in medical assistance — especially for cancer patients — as well as the halt in support for home rehabilitation, often needed due to dilapidated conditions in the camps.

Reporting by our regional correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.