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Lebanon Army Prohibits Nakba Demonstration in Maroun al-Ras

To avoid a repeat of last year, when Palestinian demonstrators breached the Israeli border fence, the Lebanese army has prohibited Palestinian demonstrators from going to Maroun al-Ras to commemorate Nabka Day.
A Palestinian woman holds a banner bearing the colours of the Palestinian flag that reads, "The people want to return to Palestine", during a march to mark the 65th anniversary of Nakba near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in the town of Naqoura, in southern Lebanon near the border between Lebanon and Israel, May 13, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of hundreds of thousands of their brethren from their home
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Yesterday [May 15] the Lebanese army refused to grant permits to about 150 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon to travel today to the village of Maroun al-Ras on the Israeli border to demonstrate in commemoration of Nakba Day and to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN Resolution 194.

Informed sources told Al-Monitor that at the beginning of this month, Hezbollah and several Lebanon-based Palestinian factions requested that the Lebanese army allow demonstrators to go to Maroun al-Ras. The town falls within the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL)’s area of ​​operations under UN Resolution 1701, which ended hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. The request would have put the number of Palestinians to attend the demonstration at 150.

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