[Interview] Palestinians in Lebanon limbo need a state, UN refugee chief tells EU

by · EUobserver

A displaced person with a disability receives a wheelchair at the emergency shelter set up at UNRWA’s Siblin Training Centre in the Chouf area of Lebanon for displaced people. (Source: ©2026 UNRWA Photo by Khaled Awad)

EU and the World

[Interview] Palestinians in Lebanon limbo need a state, UN refugee chief tells EU

Unlock article and share
By Gaia Neiman,
Brussels
,

Delivering UN help to Palestinian refugees is harder than ever due to fragile relations with Israel, a volatile conflict, and funding cuts, said veteran German humanitarian Dorothée Klaus, who is director of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees Affairs in Lebanon, on a visit to Brussels.

What brings you to Brussels? What are you expecting from the European Commission?

The main purpose of my visit is to brief the EU Council’s working group on humanitarian aid and food security on the humanitarian situation in Lebanon with colleagues from UNFPA [a UN food programme] and WHO [the World Health Organsation], specifically about the humanitarian situation affecting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, further compounded by the impact of decades of social and economic segregation and a situation of disadvantage that Palestine refugees have been living in Lebanon. While highlighting the need for sustained humanitarian aid, it was also an opportunity to look forward to what can be done to improve the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in a way that is also acceptable and benefiting to the Lebanese host country.

What are the dangers faced by those seeking refuge in Lebanon? Have you witnessed violence in refugee centres, or dangers to UNRWA staff?

Out of the 12 Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon where UNRWA provides services, five are located in current conflict affected areas – three in the south and two in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with a total population of about 60,000 persons. Interestingly, the Palestine refugee camps have been considered safer places compared to surrounding areas. So while there has been a departure from the camps after the initial evacuation orders affecting areas in the South and the Southern suburbs after 2 March [when the rewed escalation of conflict started], people thereafter have decided to return. One of the reasons for this is not just because they still see that the camps may not be as affected as some of the surrounding areas, but also because Palestine refugees really do not have a lot of options as to where to go when they leave the camps. 

It’s clear that Lebanon does not, for example, support the establishment of alternative locations outside other Palestinian refugee camps or UNRWA institutions where they can be sheltered. Palestinian refugees are not welcome in a shelter managed by the Lebanese. It’s out of the question that additional tent cities or equivalent would be constructed for Palestinians. So the options are really limited to the UNRWA shelters. 

We are very lucky that UNRWA’s operations or our staff continued operating despite the ongoing conflict. We’re able to provide humanitarian supplies to the camps in the South, which is very important as the food markets, for example, are affected. Both availability and access to food in the south are becoming an issue. Fuel supplies to run the water pumps in the camps are an issue. These are things we provide alongside vaccines and medication in our health centres, that continue to be operational.

Thanks to EU funding, UNRWA shelters in Lebanon provide refuge to thousands of displaced people, including Palestinian refugees, Syrians, and Lebanese (Source: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid)

How has Israel’s takeover of southern Lebanon influenced your work in this part of the country?

To read this story, log in or subscribe

Enjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a member for as low as €1,75 per week.

Become a member
Already a member? Login
Unlock article and share

Latest from Interview

[Interview] Europe’s data chief on sharing info with US: ‘The concerns are really big’

[Interview] Timothy Snyder: Today’s global conflict is humanity vs. technology and billionaires vs. the rest of us

Latest from Palestine

EU Commission ducks call to shield Europeans from US sanctions over ICC’s Israel war-crimes probe

EU to blacklist West Bank settlers, amid Israel’s wider ‘war of terror’

Latest from United Nations

US war spending in Iran could have saved 87 million lives, says UN

Former diplomats accuse French foreign minister of disinformation over UN envoy Albanese

Latest from EU and the World

Nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile used on Ukraine — and pro-war Russians are disappointed and furious with the results (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,551)

War is draining Ukraine of people – and even EU membership won’t stop the population collapse

A displaced person with a disability receives a wheelchair at the emergency shelter set up at UNRWA’s Siblin Training Centre in the Chouf area of Lebanon for displaced people. (Source: ©2026 UNRWA Photo by Khaled Awad)

Topics

Author Bio

Gaia Neiman is a junior migration and politics reporter at the EUobserver. She has previously written for Reuters, The Guardian, The Telegraph, among others.

+ Follow author by email