Palestinian leaders called here Wednesday for opening an embassy in Beirut where they announced an "excellent start" for future ties with Lebanon, following a similar fence-mending trip to neighboring Syria.
"We are interested ... to have an embassy here," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei told reporters after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
"Undoubtedly, this issue interests us ... so that it (embassy) can carry out its duty in developing our relations and relay the viewpoints of the Palestinian leadership to the Lebanese leadership, and vice versa," he said.
The visit is the first by top Palestinians since the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was forced out of Lebanon a year after the 1982 Israeli invasion.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation maintains an office in Syria, the main power-broker in Lebanon, but its representation in Lebanon has been closed since the Israeli invasion more than two decades ago.
PLO chief Mahmud Abbas said "I think that we have laid an excellent start for our relations in terms of consultations and exchanges of views.
"Given that we, Lebanon and Syria have territories occupied (by Israel), it is in our interest that we engage in consultations," he said.
Abbas announced that the Palestinian leadership planned a tour in the Gulf without giving details. Lebanon was the last leg of a regional tour that took in Syria, Egypt and Jordan.
Asked about a UN resolution that called for disarming foreign militias in Lebanon, Abbas said "this is just the first visit and there will be many other visits to discuss bilateral issues. Everything comes at its time."
"But not at the expense of Lebanon's sovereignty because we respect Lebanon's sovereignty over every inch of its soil," added Qorei.
The Lebanese army does not enter the refugee camps which remain under the control of armed Palestinian factions.
Abbas also said the Palestinian leadership heard "good news" from Lebanese officials concerning measures to improve the living conditions in the camps.
"You will see it on the ground, and some measures have already started," he said, referring to last week's decision to allow the refugees to bring building materials into their camps for the first time since 1985.
During a meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, the Palestinians asked for Beirut's backing in helping them maintain internal unity after the November 11 death of Arafat.
After they arrived from neighboring Syria earlier Wednesday, Abbas and Qorei immediately went to lay wreaths at a Palestinian refugee camp cemetery south of Beirut.
Dozens of flag-waving refugees greeted them at Shatila, one of two camps where massacres took place during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
The visit was meant to pave the ground for improved ties with Lebanon, still marked by the devastating effects of the 1975-1990 civil war, partly sparked by the Palestinian armed presence.
Lebanon and Syria had accused Arafat of breaking Arab ranks by signing separate peace accords with Israel in 1993.
About 400,000 Palestinian refugees are registered in Lebanon. More than half of them live in 12 refugee camps, where many Lebanese fear their permanent settlement would upset a delicate confessional and political balance.
In Syria, Abbas held talks on Monday with the leaders of Damascus-based hardline Palestinian opposition groups as well as President Bashar al-Assad, as he made the first official Palestinian visit to the country since 1996.
Israel: No deal yet on Shalit prisoner swap