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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, speaks during a meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council, parliament, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners October 27, 2005 |
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Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are guests who hope to leave one day and have no desire to interfere in their host country's internal affairs, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday in his latest attempt at reconciliation with Lebanon.
Abbas also said he hoped to open a Palestinian embassy in Beirut in the future.
Last week, Abbas met with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora in Paris and both leaders condemned the smuggling of arms to Palestinian terrorists inside Lebanon. Palestinian factions have met with Lebanese officials to work out an agreement on disarming terrorists in 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
There are more than 350,000 Palestinians in Lebanon, mainly refugees and their descendants from the 1948 Mideast War fought over Israel's creation.
Syria's recent pullout from Lebanon has prompted armed Palestinian factions to negotiate with Lebanon over giving up some weapons -- a demand that would have been unthinkable before the Syrian withdrawal. Last week's U.N. report alleging Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri earlier this year has added to the uncertainty in Lebanon.
"We are concerned that our people in Lebanon will be affected by the chaos. Therefore our stance is that we are not going to intervene in internal Lebanese affairs," Abbas told his parliament Wednesday.
"We are temporary guests in Lebanon. In the end we are going to leave Lebanon," he said. "For this reason, we should be good guests who are not intervening and creating problems for hosts."
He also called on Palestinian refugees in other Arab countries, including Egypt and Syria, to act as "good guests" until they can return home. The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with east Jerusalem as its capital that would allow hundreds of thousands of refugees to return.
"We hope to have an embassy in Lebanon," Abbas said. In the meantime, however, Abbas called on Lebanon to lift some of its restrictions on Palestinians, who are not eligible for citizenship and are barred from dozens of types of jobs.
The AP contributed to this report.
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