Lebanon

Policy Watch

Qaaqaiyat al-Sanawbar once again: Israel is erasing southern villages, while our state destroys their agriculture.

Since the start of the 2024 war, the zionist entity has targeted Qaaqaiyat al-Sanawbar for 175 days, in addition to threats of evacuation, forcing the remaining residents to flee.
While the town is being destroyed, the authorities have reclassified agricultural areas within it as an industrial zone through Decree No. 2304, issued on January 22, 2026.
This exacerbates the destruction and extraction perpetrated by the occupation.

Interview

On the fortieth day since the martyrdom of journalist Amal Khalil: An interview with her about the South and its lands

In her home in Bayssariyeh, Amal welcomed us on February 28, 2019. She was the one speaking, and we were the ones asking questions about the South, its people, and its problems.
On April 22, 2026, while doing the same thing—telling people about the South and standing against the erasure of memory and land—Amal was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted her several times.
As part of a research project on the agricultural plain in the Zahrani region, we had observed changes in land ownership, and wanted to understand the reality of these ownership structures and their implications.
Below are the words of the martyred journalist Amal Khalil about the Zahrani Plain.

Law Commentary

Behind the Scenes of Legitimizing Illegal Quarries: How the Government and Cement Companies Manipulated Urban Planning Frameworks in Koura

This commentary takes a spatial approach to dissecting the Lebanese Government’s controversial Decisions No. 16 and No. 59 (passed in April 2026), exposing them as a continuation of a decades-long trajectory of collusion between the state and the powerful cement cartel, including the two major companies operating in Koura: “Holcim” and “National Cement Company.”

Statement

Regarding yesterday’s BIEL incident and the “encroachment” speech on the waterfront

English 3-liner
On May 18, a large number of security forces arrived at BIEL and began relocating displaced families, who had settled there due to the lack of safe alternatives, to a limited area within the same property.
The municipality is estimated to provide between 200 and 300 tents, while approximately 600 families currently reside in the area, with no clarity regarding the fate of those families who will not receive a tent. Meanwhile, many of the displaced Syrians have fled the area, fearing the actions of the security forces.
This event was accompanied by escalating rhetoric claiming that the displaced refuse to move to shelters, and therefore are “squatting” in downtown Beirut, hindering tourism.
In this statement, we clarify some points concerning the rights of displaced communities in safe displacement shelters that they choose and adapt, and the need for the state’s support that prioritizes the safety, security and wellbeing of the displaced communities.

Article Law Commentary

A Proposal to Address Building Collapses:

Filling the Legal Void Does Not Replace the State 

Building collapses in Lebanon are no longer isolated incidents, but the result of a long accumulation of neglect and the state’s retreat from its responsibilities toward public safety. The latest draft law proposed by deputy Ihab Matar seeks to establish a mechanism for addressing structurally damaged buildings by organizing roles and relying on incentives and private financing rather than developing a comprehensive public policy. Yet when rehabilitation is tied to economic feasibility and investment opportunities, the question remains: what kind of city is being shaped, and for whom is it being rebuilt or renovated?

Report

Monitoring Draft laws and Government Decisions: 

What Did the State Do During the War?

This report monitors the performance of the government and parliament during the period of the Israeli aggression up to 15 April, and shows the absence of a comprehensive response that tackles social and economic impacts. Partial responses and an increasingly security-driven approach were adopted, alongside the passing of decisions that do not reflect the priorities of the moment nor the scale of the ongoing collapse. This reveals an ongoing crisis management through a business-as-usual logic, without an integrated approach that places people’s needs at the center of the response.

Petition

Joint Letter to Stakeholders Addressing the Displacement Crisis:

Housing Is a Right That Cannot Be Postponed

Hundreds of displaced families continue to seek shelter in public spaces, under difficult conditions, while other families are forced to negotiate or open vacant doors on their own to avoid sleeping in the …

Research-Based Article

2024–2026: Israeli Bombardment of Tyre: Where and What?

Extracted from a wider research conducted by Public Works Studio, this article analyzes the Israeli aggression against Tyre City between October 2023 and April 2026, framing it as a systematic “urbicide” executed through the issuance of evacuation orders, the destruction of dense residential-economic clusters, and the deliberate dismantling of social ties.

Project

A Comprehensive Law for the Right to Housing in Lebanon

In 2023, Public Works Studio launched a project for a comprehensive draft law for the right to housing in Lebanon. The project is a radical approach to addressing the housing crisis and its accumulations over the past decades, and is proposed as a tool capable of securing the diverse needs of a variety of social groups, especially the elderly, persons with disability, students, workers, families, and others. The project is rooted in a participatory methodology, and throughout its phases engaged in consultations with residents from marginalized communities, civil society institutions, and experts, whose ownership of the proposal is a pillar for the project’s success.

Policy Watch

Shelter Centers in Tripoli: A Response Deepening class inequalities in the city

Until the morning of 17 April, 20 shelters were opened in Tripoli. Their uneven distribution concentrated pressure in already vulnerable neighbourhoods, particularly those with collapsed or at-risk buildings, while wealthier areas were largely excluded despite available vacant housing stock, reflecting how response practices reproduce existing spatial and class-based inequalities in the city.

Policy Watch

Shelters in Beirut: Three Factors Deepening Inequality in the City

Amid the ongoing escalation and growing waves of displacement toward the capital, shelters in Beirut continue to face increasing pressure. A review of these centers reveals three key challenges: limited capacity and delayed shelter availability, the uneven geographic distribution across the city, and the heavy reliance on educational institutions as shelter sites. These patterns point to fundamental structural imbalances in the crisis response, contributing to the deepening of inequality at the level of the city.

Statement

Securing the Right to Housing and Return: An Open Letter to Officials on Tripoli’s Building Collapse Crisis

As Tripoli’s building collapse crisis deepens. This letter calls on public officials to ensure that the government’s Emergency Plan measures protect residents from long-term displacement through dignified alternative housing and guaranteed return.