Abstract
This paper describes the events that have taken place over the last 50 years since the establishment of the first Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and the relationship between these events and the endemic inter-communal violence within these camps. It explains the exclusionist policies of the Lebanese state and the resulting levels of tension and conflict that have undermined peace processes and social reconciliation following the Lebanese civil war. A case study of one camp, Chatila, illustrates how these realities play out in the daily lives of Palestinian refugees and other residents within the camp, stimulating conflicts over identity and continuing hostility.