BEIRUT: Speakers at a rally in Beirut Sunday marking the 47th anniversary of the creation of the Fatah Movement stressed the need to bolster Palestinian reconciliation and to maintain stability inside Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Newly appointed Palestinian envoy to Beirut Ashraf Dabbour also described the past year as the year of Palestinian diplomacy.

“2011 was the year of success for Palestinians and Palestinian diplomacy, which was led by President Mahmoud Abbas when he formally submitted a request for the recognition of Palestine’s full-state membership [at the U.N.],” Dabbour said during the ceremony, held at Ghobeiry’s Risalat Hall in Beirut.

Speaking to Palestinian officials and representatives of several Lebanese political parties, Dabbour praised the Lebanese government for its strong support for Palestine when Lebanon led the U.N. Security Council in September, during which time Abbas submitted a request for full-state membership.

Sunday’s ceremony, which was attended by a wide range of politicians and diplomats, marked a significant date in Palestinian history, for those inside and outside of Lebanon. Less than a year after its founding on January 1, 1964, the Fatah launched an armed struggle against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

“A few men changed the course of history when they fired the first bullet in 1965 and took the Palestinians from the rubble of the Nakba to resistance,” said Dabbour in reference to the 1948 Israeli aggression, which forced the Palestinians to flee their homes.

Fathi Abu al-Ardat, secretary of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon, praised the Palestinian leadership for restoring Palestine’s political leverage around the world. “The Palestinian Authority, represented by Abu Mazen [Abbas], succeeded in restoring the Palestinian cause to the political map,” said Ardat.

However, Ardat criticized the international community for neglecting the Palestinian people’s right of return to their homeland. “The Palestinians have the right to return to their land that was confiscated from them through an international plot,” Ardat noted.

Ardat also called on the Lebanese government to help solve the social problems facing the Palestinian community in the country. “It is important to follow up on and help solve all social problems and the security within the refugee camps without violating the Lebanese sovereignty,” said Ardat, addressing the Lebanese government.

In a speech, Progressive Socialist Party representative Bahaa Abu Karroum called on the rival Palestinian factions to unite against Israeli aggression. “Speed up the national reconciliation to stop Israel from fragmenting the Palestinian struggle,” Abu Karroum said.

In December of last month, rival movements of Hamas and Fatah began a new round of talks in Cairo to kick-start a stalled reconciliation process.

“The future holds more challenges against the Palestinian Authority amid the indifference of the international community in the face of Israeli racism ... both movements should cooperate better to ensure the greater interests of Palestinians,” Abu Karroum added.

Speaking on behalf of the Future Movement, former Education Minister Hassan Mneimneh praised the founder of the Fatah Movement Yasser Arafat and his national role in the Palestinian struggle for statehood.