Conflict Incident Report

Hundreds of Palestinians blocked a vital road near the entrance to Beirut to protest aid cuts by the U.N. and the new applied hospitalization system that will reduce medical services for the refugees. The road was blocked and diverted from Beirut’s Cite Sportive toward the Beirut suburb of Bir Hasan due to the rally near the United Nations Relief and Works Agency headquarters in Jnah, the Traffic Management Center tweeted. Voice of Lebanon radio reported that around 50 mini-buses were being used to transport refugees from Palestinian camps from the southern city of Sidon to Beirut in order for them to participate in the demonstration. According to a statement issued by the organizing committee, protesters vowed to “continue their demonstrations and escalate them until [UNRWA’s Lebanon chief] Matthias Schmale retracts his unfair decision against Palestinian refugees.” The statement described the aid cuts, which “target the social and economic life of refugees,” as political. They “impact the Palestinian cause and the people's right to return (to their land).” http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2016/Jan-22/333371-hundreds-of...