How did Palestinian refugees who arrived after the 1948 war affect Beirut’s social tensions?

The arrival of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon following the 1948 war, and particularly the subsequent movement of Palestinian guerrillas into the country in the early 1970s, significantly exacerbated social and political tensions in Beirut and across Lebanon.

As these refugees—who were largely landless, impoverished, and lacked political status—settled in the country, they found common cause with underprivileged, rural, and predominantly Muslim Lebanese populations. This alignment caused socioeconomic alienation to intersect with existing confessional grievances, as the Palestinian presence began to function as a "state within a state".12

This dynamic contributed to the unraveling of Lebanon’s delicate political balance, as the influx of refugees and militias deepened the polarization between different segments of society. Furthermore, the housing sector faced significant strain, with many refugees living in improvised accommodations, which intensified the broader housing shortages and social instability that characterized the period leading up to the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.123