Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon are being offered a sum of up to 350 dollars by Russian entities to sign up to join the ongoing conflict in Ukraine on behalf of Moscow.
Citing a Lebanese security official, the US news agency The Media Line reported on Tuesday that some Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon have signed up to take part in the war after being recruited by activists associated with the Palestinian embassy in Lebanon.
As the article says, Hezbollah also participated in the recruitment.
According to the source, most of the enlisted Palestinians were born after 1969 as they can travel easier for the purpose of participating in the conflict as mercenaries since they – those born from this point onwards – do not have proper registration with the Lebanese authorities, which don’t have the ability to control or track the movement of these refugees.
According to the article, most of them are reportedly members of Fatah, the political movement led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and other organizations.
These Palestinian volunteers, which reportedly receive a monthly allowance and compensation for their families in exchange for agreeing to participate in the Russian war against Ukraine, mostly come from the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon – Ein Al-Khalwa.
According to the prominent Lebanese security and defense academic Riad Kahwaji, it is not surprising or incomprehensible that these things happen considering the fact that Palestinian camps in both Syria and Lebanon have high unemployment.
Per Kahwaji, who did not have specific information on recruitment, the situation in the camps is miserable and there are no jobs for the young men.
Although it declined to comment on the subject, the Palestinian embassy in Lebanon stressed that they neither have any connection to the war in Ukraine nor they have encouraged Palestinians to participate in it.
