SIDON, Lebanon: The director-general of General Security met with leaders of Palestinian groups Monday morning to tackle residency issues facing Palestinian refugees who have fled the violence in Syria.

Palestinian sources said a delegation from factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Alliance of Palestinian Forces participated in the meeting with General Security Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim. The meeting addressed a number of issues linked to General Security’s processing of paperwork for Palestinian refugees and their relocation from Syria into refugee camps in Lebanon, as well as ways to facilitate their stay and their return.

According to the sources, Ibrahim said a number of decisions were in the process of being made to address paperwork issues for Palestinian refugees, including those from Syria whose residency permits have expired.

General Security is planning to allow Palestinian refugees from Syria who have overstayed their residency to leave the country without facing fines if they submit their documents within 30 days of such a decision, the sources said.

More than 3,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria have registered with UNRWA in Lebanon.

Another decision would allow Palestinian refugees who have lost their documents to receive temporary IDs in order to facilitate their movement.

General Security is also planning to grant refugees new travel passports, which can be read electronically, to replace the travel documents now in use.

According to the sources, a General Security officer has been assigned to a committee tasked with following up on the situation of Palestinian refugees from Syria.

Ibrahim assigned Liet. Col. Jamal Jaroush, who will join Khaled Abada, from the Palestinian Embassy on the committee. PLO factions are represented by Abu Ayad Shaalan, who heads the Popular Committees in Lebanon, while the Alliance’s delegate is Mahfouz Minwar, who heads Islamic Jihad in Beirut. Mohammad Abu Attieh represents UNRWA on the committee.

The committee will hold its first meeting with the participation of General Security Tuesday at the Palestinian Embassy.