ead of the Administration and Justice parliamentary committee, MP Robert Ghanem, said work permits will preserve the refugee status of Palestinians in Lebanon.

The West Bekaa MP spoke to reporters on Monday after chairing a meeting for the committee at the Parliament.

Ghanem said the committee amended article 59 of the Labor Law by which Palestinians registered in the Interior Ministry and the Political Affairs and Refugees Directory would have to file for a work permit in order to gain access to various professions.

However, Palestinians will be exempted from the work permit fee, according to the amended provision.

In June, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Syrian Social National Party forwarded a draft law to Parliament granting Palestinians in Lebanon access to property ownership, social security benefits and various professions.

Voting on the draft legislation is due on August 17, after the process was postponed twice in a bid to achieve consensus over the matter.

The legislation is currently being studied by the Administration and Justice committee.

While the draft law suggested exempting Palestinians from work permits, Ghanem said: “We fear that if we exempted the Palestinians from a work permit, we will drop their refugee status and this does not come in line with their interests.”