At the initiative of members of the IofC team in Lebanon, a letter was recently published in the newspaper Al-Safir. It was in response to the ‘Palestinian Declaration for Lebanon’ made on the initiative of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and issued by Abbas Zaki, the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon on 7 January 2008.

In the Declaration, the PLO, for the first time since the end of the civil war in 1991, outlined its proposals for its relations with Lebanon. The Declaration addressed two main concerns: the resettlement of Palestinian refugees and weapons held by Palestinians in Lebanon. Regarding the former, the document rejected any plan to integrate Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and emphasized Palestinian respect for Lebanon's independence and sovereignty. Regarding the latter, the document stipulates that all weapons in the possession of the various Palestinian factions, whether inside or outside Palestinian refugee camps, should be subject to Lebanese laws and not used in any inter-Lebanese conflict. Furthermore, the PLO offered the Lebanese an unconditional apology for ‘any damage [the Palestinians] have caused to our dear Lebanon whether intentionally or not’ since 1948. The document also urged the Lebanese to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian refugees.

In response, 44 Christian Lebanese signed a letter headlined Appeal to our Palestinian brothers in Lebanon, which appeared on 12 April 2008, the 33rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Lebanese war. It read: ‘We Lebanese Christians must recognize that some of us committed unjustified acts during that long war which resulted in the death of innocent fellow Palestinians. This hurts us and we would like to apologize, asking God to show us how to compensate, if possible, for the injustice perpetrated. We call on our fellow Palestinians to enter into relations and dialogue with us in the service of a decent, secure and fraternal life for us all. We are confident that what we express here is shared by many of our fellow Lebanese.’

The following day, in the Lebanese press, under the headline Abbas Ziki speaks positively of the apology of prominent Lebanese to the Palestinian victims, the PLO representative in Lebanon was quoted as saying: "We are very pleased with the exchanged apologies, which reflect the respect of the Palestinians for the Lebanese, and the respect of the Lebanese for their fellow Palestinians, as well as the recognition of the sanctity of the causes of the two peoples which are vulnerable to oppression and which have suffered over a long period due to political maps imposed on the region. These apologies constitute a good beginning for mutual understanding of the need for the Lebanese for stability and the need for Palestinians to return to their homes. On our part, we stress after this Declaration, that we place ourselves at the disposal of Lebanese unity and the stability of Lebanese security. We will not let anyone disturb our good relations with the Lebanese State and people.” Furthermore, he stressed "the importance of communication between the Palestinian and Lebanese authorities, for the good of the two peoples and for what will exert pressure for the rights of the Palestinian people whose land is usurped”.