Mousa Abu Marzouq, who heads the Hamas terrorist organization’s “international relations bureau”, said on Tuesday that the “Palestinian refugees” in Lebanon are under pressure from the authorities and that the local immigration offices are working to encourage them to emigrate.
This situation, Abu Marzouq said, has led to a decline in the number of “Palestinian refugees” in Lebanon. This, he claimed, is one of the objectives of the “Deal of the Century”, the American peace initiative that seeks to remove the refugee problem from the negotiating table.
Lebanese authorities recently launched a crackdown on foreign workers, including people registered as “Palestinian refugees”.
Lebanese residents who are registered as “Palestinian refugees” and their descendants who were born in that country reside in residential neighborhoods known as "refugee camps", have limited work options and are refused citizenship.
Lebanon refuses to naturalize the “Palestinian refugees” and has stressed the need to work for their return to their country of origin, which Palestinian Arabs claim is Israel.
Abu Marzouq also praised the decision taken by a European court to remove Hamas and its armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, from the list of terrorist organizations, calling it "a positive step and victory for all those who support our people's right to fight."
He said the Hamas movement would continue the legal battle until the final removal of Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations.
Abu Marzouq noted that European countries understand very well that they have no ability to play a central role in “Palestine” without Hamas, and that they therefore maintain contact with the organization in various ways.
Speaking about Hamas' relationship with Iran, Abu Marzouq said that despite the close relations, Hamas maintains independent decision-making in a way that serves the Palestinian issue. Regarding Syria, Abu Marzouq said that there has been no relation with Syria since Hamas reluctantly left the country during the civil war.