Palestinian Leaders Visit Lebanon

Palestinian refugees here got their first close look at their top political leaders in 22 years Thursday, winning reassurances that their “right to return” to former homes would not be abandoned.

That issue, in which Palestinians seek to return to lands in Israel they or their ancestors fled or were driven from, has been a key sticking point through years of peace negotiations with Israel.

The flag-waving rally for the new Palestine Liberation Organization chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, had all the trappings of a campaign stop with a crucial constituency -- albeit one unable to vote in the Jan. 9 elections. Abbas, who replaced the late Yasser Arafat as PLO chief, is running to succeed Arafat in his other post, Palestinian Authority president.

In stark testimony to the difficulties ahead for the new Palestinian leadership, Abbas and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Korei during their visit to Lebanon have stayed away from the largest refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh, home to rival Palestinian factions.

Under heavy guard, the leaders instead laid a wreath at a martyrs’ monument in the southern city of Sidon before going to Rashidiyeh, a camp of 17,000 people dominated by those loyal to Fatah -- the political faction of Arafat and Abbas.

Hundreds of uniformed and armed guerrillas were deployed in the narrow streets of Rashidiyeh, near the port city of Tyre, to protect the leaders.

It was the first visit to Lebanon by senior Palestinian officials since PLO guerrillas were driven from the country in 1982.

A 15-member Palestinian police honor guard armed with AK-47 rifles saluted the leaders. A marching band played the bagpipe and drums as loudspeakers blared revolutionary songs.