A new bill being voted today in the Lebanese parliament could give rights to some of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees currently residing in the country. Until now, these refugees were unable to buy property or hold certain jobs in Lebanon, even though many of them were born on Lebanese soil.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has demanded that Hamas release humanitarian aid seized in Gaza from the UN agency UNRWA immediately. The agency suspended its operations on Friday.
UN officials have accused Hamas of seizing aid supplies meant for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The UN emergency relief coordinator on Wednesday called for all sides to respect the "neutrality and independence" of aid workers and supplies.
A Gaza-bound ship carrying aid was stopped by the Israeli navy on Thursday and ordered to return to Lebanon, from where it reportedly set off. Journalists on board said shots were fired, but the Israeli military denied the reports.
The Week in the Middle East focuses on the Dbayeh camp in Lebanon, the country's only camp for Christian Palestinians. Also in our weekly show: US soldiers prepare to leave Iraq; and reporting from the dark in the blockade-hit Gaza Strip.
Calm returned after heavy clashes erupted between Islamic militants and fighters of the mainstream Fatah faction in the densly populated Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.
Palestinian camps 
