Cairo Agreement 1969 .. “Constitution” Palestinian presence in Lebanon Encyclopedia

The Cairo Agreement 1969 between Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization is the framework that has been organizing the Palestinian civil and military presence in the country of rice. The two parties reached the agreement by the then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. The agreement in its essence stipulates the right of the Palestinians residing in Lebanon to “participate in the Palestinian revolution through the armed struggle within the principles and safety of Lebanon.”

The agreement – which was initially remained very secret and was seen only by the leaders – the refugee camps under the control of the PLO, and indicates the establishment of local committees in the camps to care for the interests of the Palestinians residing in it, in cooperation with the local authorities, and within the scope of Lebanese sovereignty.

The context of the agreement

The agreement came about 20 years after the start of the displacement of thousands of Palestinians in the north to Lebanon in the aftermath of the Nakba and the announcement of the establishment of Israel, and the number of Palestinians in Lebanon in 1969 reached between 100 thousand and 130 thousand who were distributed to the camps throughout the country.

The Palestinian refugees were initially welcomed in Lebanon, but as their numbers reproduce, it began to raise some concerns about the population composition of the country and the demographic and political balances between the country’s sects.

Thus, the Lebanese government took the initiative to issue laws to control the Palestinian presence in the country, and these laws were seen as a security and sectarian nature and included a restriction on the establishment of Palestinian refugees, especially with regard to housing, work and movement between camps and guerrilla activity.

These fears increased in light of the increasing operations of the Palestinian resistance on the lands of Lebanon, as Lebanese political parties began to fear that Palestinian guerrilla activities will become an excuse for the Israeli occupation to intervene in Lebanon.

In return, other currents and components of Lebanese society, specifically the Sunni and Druze component and the forces of the left, were supporting the activity of the Palestinian resistance on Lebanese soil.

These fears and divisions were exacerbated in the Lebanese positions in the wake of the 1967 war, as the Palestinian resistance stick in Lebanon intensified and Palestinian guerrillas created military bases in southern Lebanon, and the situation increased and matters developed into clashes between members of the Palestinian resistance and the Lebanese army that reached its peak in October 1969.

The division extended to the Lebanese street and demonstrations took place in several cities, some of which support the Palestinian resistance and others opposed it, and the army sometimes was forced to intervene to disperse the demonstrators. The Palestinian camps did not escape the repercussions of that division, some of them (Nahr al -Bared and Burj Al -Barajneh) witnessed armed clashes.

In the face of this situation, the government, led by Rashid Karami, remained paralyzed for several months, before the authorities decided to impose a curfew in all regions of the country without this resulting in an end to the state of lawlessness.

In this charged atmosphere, the issue took a regional dimension, as several Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Iraq …) expressed their support for the Palestinian party, which increased the pressure on the Lebanese government.

Thus, international and regional parties intervened to contain this worsening crisis, and Egypt, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, was at the forefront of the countries seeking to reach an agreement between the two parties to the crisis: the Lebanese government and the Palestinian factions represented in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The contents of the agreement

On Monday, November 3, 1969, the Lebanese delegation met in Cairo, headed by the Army Commander General Emile Al -Bustani, and the delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Yasser Arafat, head of the organization.

The agreement stipulated that the relations of Lebanon and the Palestinian revolution “must always be characterized by confidence, frankness and positive cooperation in the interest of Lebanon and the Palestinian revolution, within the sovereignty and safety of Lebanon.”

The meeting also agreed to reorganize the Palestinian presence in Lebanon on the basis:

• The right to work, residency and movement for the Palestinians residing in Lebanon.
• Establishing local committees of Palestinians in the camps to care for the interests of the Palestinians residing in it, in cooperation with the local authorities, and within the scope of Lebanese sovereignty.
• The presence of the armed Palestinian struggle points inside the camps cooperate with the local committees to secure the good relations with the authority, and these points take over the issue of organizing the existence of weapons and identifying them in the camps, within the scope of Lebanese security and the interest of the Palestinian revolution.
• Allowing the Palestinians residing in Lebanon to participate in the Palestinian revolution through the armed struggle within the principles and safety of Lebanon.
• The agreement considered that the Palestinian armed struggle is a work that dates back to the interest of Lebanon, as it is in the interest of the Palestinian and Arab revolution, and stipulated that it facilitate it by:
• Facilitate traffic for guerrillas and identify traffic and reconnaissance points in the border areas.
• Securing the road to the Arqoub area.
• The commitment of the armed struggle to control the actions of all members of its organizations and their failure to interfere in Lebanese affairs.
• Finding a joint discipline between the armed struggle and the Lebanese army.
• Stop media campaigns from both sides.
• Statistics of the number of elements of the armed struggle present in Lebanon by its leadership.
• The appointment of representatives of the armed struggle in the Lebanese corners shared to solve all emergency matters.
• Study the distribution of appropriate concentration places in the border areas, which are agreed upon with the Lebanese pillars.
• Organizing entry, exit and wandering to the elements of the armed struggle.
• Cancel Jeron base.
• The Lebanese army is facilitating the work of the centers of the doctor, evacuation and catering.
• The release of detainees and re -confiscated weapons.
• The exercise of the Lebanese authorities (civil and military) their full powers and responsibilities in all Lebanese regions and in all circumstances.

After the agreement

According to the Cairo 1969 agreement, the Palestinian presence in Lebanon gained greater legitimacy, and the Palestine Liberation Organization became controlling the refugee camps, and this was positively reflected on the economic and social conditions of the Palestinians.

On the other hand, the division remained the master of the situation in the Lebanese camp between the Maronite parties that refuse to grow the role of the Palestinian resistance, and between the government, which was authorized by the agreement to control the activity of the Palestinian resistance outside the camps only, with the possibility of preventing its operations against Israel without the permission of the Lebanese army.

Over the years, the Palestinians’ conditions in the camps gradually improved, whether housing, work, health and social services, and the increase in the Palestinian military presence, while some Lebanese parties have increased concerns that this is done at the expense of the country’s sovereignty, and some alluded to what he called “a state within the state.”

Those divisions and fears reached their climax when the Lebanese civil war erupted in 1975 against the backdrop of sectarian and political tensions, the deteriorating economic and social conditions, and the Palestinian resistance was a prominent party in that war along with other internal parties before the line of regional parties, led by Syria and Israel.

Israeli invasion and the abolition of the agreement

In a few years, specifically in 1982, the Palestinian presence witnessed a major shift due to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which forced the Palestine Liberation Organization to leave Lebanon and transfer its military institutions to Tunisia.

As a result, most of the organization’s institutions that supported many refugees were closed, and those who preferred to remain in Lebanon were submitted to undergo Lebanese control, and the results of the invasion were a Sabra and Shatila massacre.

After 5 years, the Lebanese Parliament canceled what was stated in the Cairo Agreement in 1969, with acknowledging the human rights of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and then the legal status of Palestinian refugees became similar to what it was before 1969.

But on the ground, the Palestinian refugee camps remained security by the Palestinian factions, and the Lebanese army or security forces could not enter these camps, while the army imposed strict measures around them.

The number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is estimated at more than 493,000 who live in difficult circumstances within the camps, and more than half of the refugees reside in 12 organized and recognized camps at the Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

In the midst of the major transformations in the region since the Al -Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023 and the expansion of the Israeli aggression circle on the Gaza Strip to the rest of the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and in front of the decline in the influence of the Lebanese Hezbollah and the fall of the regime of the ousted Syrian President Bashar al -Assad and the formation of a new government in Lebanon, renewed talk about the Cairo 1969 agreement, specifically about the Palestinian resistance weapon in Lebanon.

In this context, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, agreed on May 21, 2025 in Beirut to form a joint committee to follow up the conditions of the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and confirmed their commitment to the principle of exclusive arms in the hands of the Lebanese state and ending any aspects outside the logic of the state.

Accordingly, it was decided to start withdrawing weapons from the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon in mid -June 2025, and the start of the capital, Beirut camps, followed by other camps later.