Hamas Office of Refugees Affairs has confirmed that returning to Palestine remains the ultimate destination for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

In a statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, the Office asserted that the Palestinian presence in Lebanon is temporary, and reiterated Hamas’s firm rejection of resettling Palestinian refugees in the Arab world as a substitute for the right of return.

“The massacres will not dissuade us from our goal which is to liberate and return to Palestine,” the Office stated.

The Office demanded apology from the perpetrators of the massacre and compensation for the families of the martyrs. 

“Tel al-Zaatar was fertile ground for the Palestinian resistance operating from Lebanon and the destruction of the camp served only Israel’s interests,” the Office underlined.

The Tel al-Zaatar massacre took place on August 12, 1976 during the Lebanese Civil War. Thousands of Palestinian refugees were killed after two months of siege by Lebanese militants and heavy bombardment that left the camp levelled.