For the past two weeks, Palestinians have camped in front of the central offices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which runs their camps, to express frustration at a reduction in the services UNRWA has provided them for years, said Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"We will stay here until our rights are recognized, come rain or wind, we're not going to move," said Dalal, a woman sitting on a cloth in front of the entrance to the UNRWA offices in southern Beirut.

"We will not let anyone enter, and as of Monday, if the officials continue to ignore our demands, we will block the entry to the employees, even if the police want to block us, as they did today," the 35-year-old woman added.

The Popular Committees controlling the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon ordered the protest on August 27, 2002, and it has picked up pace.

The 200 mostly women and children staging the sit-in on Sunday, September 15, are expected to see their number boosted to 500 when the men return from working odd jobs later in the day, AFP said.

The protestors are hoping to draw attention to the plight of the 376,000 Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon since Israel's creation in 1948, more than half of whom live in the squalid refugee camps and struggle to find employment.

Nabila, who has participated since the strike's start along with her husband and four children, blasted UNRWA's decision to impose tuition fees for the schools it runs in the camps.

"Which of us can pay 100,000 Lebanese liras (67 dollars) in school fees per child? We barely manage to cover book and bus costs. We're at the brink," she complained.

"All we are demanding is to live decently. There are open-air sewers in our district, and rats are invading. We are unable to pay rent. We want UNRWA to build us houses," Nabila added.

Mohammed, a teenager from the Shatila camp, said UNRWA was doing nothing, "on the contrary, services are being reduced and worsen each year, and we are treated like pariahs and no one worries about our misery," he said bitterly.

Children run around barefoot in this improvised camp that has emerged around the protestors. Laundry hangs from tents, and a rancid smell emanates from improvised toilets on one side of the UNRWA building.

"The salary of UNRWA head Alfred Mitchell reaches two million dollars, and the costs of running his office 250,000 dollars, enough to cover the medical expenses of chronic illnesses in all the camps," read one banner.