The Guests Who Set the House on Fire!

While Palestinians are often seen as victims of Israeli aggression, their armed factions—particularly during the late 20th century—have caused significant damage to fellow Arab countries that offered them refuge and support. In Lebanon, instead of acting as grateful guests or allies, some Palestinian groups operated as armed militias, effectively creating a state within a state. Their actions played a major role in sparking the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), dragging Lebanon into prolonged internal and regional conflict, and prompting repeated Israeli invasions. In Jordan, their attempt to overthrow the monarchy led to Black September in 1970, a brutal conflict between Palestinian groups and the Jordanian army. In Kuwait, after receiving shelter for decades, the PLO aligned itself with Saddam Hussein during the 1990 Iraqi invasion, which led to a complete breakdown in relations and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Kuwait. In Syria, while initially given refuge, tensions also rose due to Palestinian involvement in local conflicts. Instead of uniting with Arab hosts against the common enemy—Israel—many Palestinian factions pursued their own armed agendas, often at the expense of national stability in the very countries that supported their cause. For Lebanon especially, it remains a bitter irony that while Lebanese citizens have long supported the Palestinian struggle, they were repaid with bullets, bombings, and instability.