A- On 18 December 1982, Minister Dr. Adnan Mrueh published Ordinance 189/1, which reserved a number of occupations for Lebanese citizens. It prohibited foreigners from engaging in all forms of administrative and financial employment, specifically the following: director, assistant director, manager, financial secretary, accountant, secretary general, clerk in charge of the deposits, computer employment, protection, warden, guard, warehouse director, sales, money exchange, jeweler, laboratory work, barber, electrical and glass installation, health equipment, mechanics, and industrial employment.
Among the owners of capital, it forbad foreigners from engaging in trade, specifically: general trade, import and export, commissions and commercial agencies, as well as any form of trade in prepared clothing, capital, jewelry, gold, gems, other precious stones, cars (and related goods), and houses.
B- On 11 January 1993, Minister Abdullah Al-Amin also published a decree (Ordinance 3/1) limiting several occupations to Lebanese citizens and excluding foreigners. This decree repeated the list of occupations hat appeared in the ordinance of Dr.Mrueh, and added the following: teaching in the elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels (except the teaching of languages when necessary), engineering, waiters, and driving taxis and private cars.
Restrictions upon the owners of capital: auditing, contracting, the production of shoes, clothing furniture, or sweets, printing, publishing, distribution, the production of building materials, barbers, and the rebuilding of cars (mechanics, glass installation, furnishing, and electricity).
C– On 18 December 1995, Minister Asad Hardan published Ordinance 1\621 repeating what was specified for laborers and the owners of capital in the decree of minister Al-Amin. The difference between the ordinances of Ministers Al-Amin and Hardan and that Dr. Mrueh is the fact that the latter was extremely mild in terms of the number of occupations prohibited and that it allowed the possibility of obtaining work permits for prohibited occupations, as mentioned above. After that time, however, this practice was forbidden by the other ministers. In addition, Minister Hardan added several occupations to the list of restrictions: construction and its derivatives (except the installation of electricity, medical equipments, and glass – which had already been restricted), agricultural employment, tanning and leather, excavation, carpet weaving, the production of metals, employment as beauticians, dry nurses, nurses, servants, and cooks, and the cleaning and oiling of cars.

On the other hand, the decrees of Ministers Al-Amin and Hardan stipulate limited exceptions to these regulations under specific conditions. Foreigners can be exempted from the law if they meet the conditions mentioned in Article 8 of Ordinance 1756 (Organization of Foreign Labor). First, a set of conditions exempted those foreigners: 1) living in Lebanon since birth; 2) born to a Lebanese mother or a family with Lebanese roots; or 3) married to a Lebanese woman for at least one year. Second, the ordinance defined a number of conditions for exempting foreigners who have experience in occupations that no Lebanese citizens practice. These occupations include for example, translation to and from rare foreign languages (like Hebrew) and languages that are not common in Lebanon or highly specialized medical professions for which there is a need in Lebanon. IN these cases, the jobs and their conditions must be advertised in the newspapers for at least three days before a foreigner can be hired. In addition, any association that wishes to hire a foreigner must already employ at least three Lebanese citizens before the foreigner can begin his work. In practice, this leads to the abolition of the above-mentioned exceptions or, in the best analysis, makes it very rare that anyone can benefit from them.

Practically, a broad segment if Palestinian workers are employed in daily agricultural work, construction, traveling sales, mechanical work, repair and workshops, and as beauticians. Another segment works in a number of occupations, such as teachers in private schools, and in rare cases as secretaries and computer operators in companies and offices. Finally, a third segment of the Palestinian population—mostly woman—is employed to provide services in private homes and associations.

Low services jobs are not included in the Lebanese labor law. No legal authority prohibits them and there are no penalties for those who employ foreigners in these occupations. In addition, the law does not require a permit for some agricultural workers. However, the condition in these sectors are the nadir of oppression: long work hours (generally not less than 12 hours a day), lack of any form of social security, compensation, or vacation.

3) Occupations Unions:
A – The Lawyers' Ordre: The conditions for pursuing employment as a lawyer were laid down by ordinance 8\70 ( 11 March 1980) and its subsequent modifications. It established five conditions for joining the Lawyers's Union: "In order to practice the profession of law, one must meet the following conditions: first—be Lebanese citizen for at least ten years…"

B – Medical Doctors' Union: All medical occupations in Lebanon, with the exception of dentistry, are governed under executive law by Ordinance 1659 (December 1979). This law permits non- Lebanese to practice medicine in Lebanon based on the principle of reciprocity: if a country accepts Lebanese citizens in its medical unions that country's citizens will be accepted into the Lebanese Medical Doctor's Union. However, because the Palestinians do not have a state of their own, it is not in their power to apply this principle. They are therefore denied the possibility of working as doctors in Lebanon.

C – Pharmacist's Union: A law passed on 21 October 1950 governs the practice of pharmacy in Lebanon. This law imposes on non-Lebanese a series of conditions for practicing pharmacy, different for citizens of Arab states than it is for non-Arabs. It establishes two cases in which foreigners can work as pharmacists: if they receive special permission or if they are from a country that applies the principle of mutual reciprocity. This creates a situation in which Palestinians are forbidden the right to pursue and practice pharmacy in Lebanon territory.

D – Engineers' Union: A law passed on 22 January 1951 governs this union and establishes the conditions for foreign membership – again differentiating between citizens of Arab states and non-Arab states. This law creates an abundance of conditions for foreign membership, including for example, "if the law of the country in question allows membership of Lebanese engineers" (Article 4, Line 2). Again Palestinian are not able to apply this principle.

4) Several studies demonstrate that 0.14% of the Palestinian labor force has achieved the right to work by obtaining an official permit. In addition, 1.03% of the Palestinian labor force works for UNRWA as employees, teachers, doctors, and drivers (2450 employees). A further 3.5% work in jobs that do not requires a permit, such as working in agriculture , raising livestock, carrying out a few small occupations in the refugee camps, and serving as employees of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) (around 600). That brings the total to roughly 5% of the entire Palestinian labor force. As a result, there is a trend among Palestinian youth, especially males, to search for work outside of Lebanon in order to support themselves and their families.

The following chart reveals the number of official work permits issued each year, according to statistics compiled by the Lebanese Ministry of Labor. In reading this chart, we must keep in mind that the number of Palestinians in Lebanon is roughly 400,000 and that the labor force consists of around 235,000.