World Bulletin / News Desk 

Hundreds of Palestinian refugees demonstrated on Thursday in capital Beirut to demand equal access to employment, one day ahead of International Workers' Day.

Protesters converged on the headquarters of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, waving Palestinian flags and demanding the right to work in Lebanon "without discrimination."

"With all due respect to Lebanon's sovereignty and stability, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon reject any attempt at forced displacement or resettlement," Mahmoud Ali, deputy chief of the Palestinian Trade Union Association in Lebanon, said at the rally.

Lebanese law prohibits Palestinian refugees from working in 25 areas that require trade union membership, such as medicine, law, and engineering.

What's more, Lebanese law does not require that Lebanese employers provide Palestinian workers with health insurance or maternity benefits.

Palestinians are also prohibited from starting their own businesses in Lebanon, meaning they must work for Lebanese employers.

Protesters said they had submitted a letter to Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi calling on the two officials to "take steps to lift restrictions and discriminatory procedures against Palestinian refugees."