Violence Erupts among Palestinians in Southern Lebanon

April 3rd, 2016

Awake Goy

Fahwad Al-Khadoumi (nsnbc) : Tensions in the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon near the city of Sidon are high after violence erupted between Al-Fatah and the Islamist Fatah al-Islam and Harakat Fatah. Fighting calmed on Saturday but has been interrupted by sporadic exchange of fire on Sunday.

The situation in Ain el-Helweh began to deteriorate Monday after a member of Fatah al-Islam allegedly assassinated Hamza al-Natour, a member of the Harakat Fatah group.

Subsequent clashes led to the involvement of Palestinian security forces which are dominated by Palestine’s governing Al-Fatah (Fatah). Subsequently clashes emerged between these security forces and fighters from a variety Islamist groups.

A member of Al-Fatah, whom the Lebanese National News Agency has been identified as Hussein Othman was killed during the clashes on Friday.

On Friday the Popular Movement committee met in an attempt to calm the situation but came under fire, resulting in the injuring of Sraj Shreidi who was transported to hospital. Several others were injured in shootouts on Friday and Saturday.

There was relative calm Sunday morning but the calm is being interrupted by sporadic gunfire. A local resident reported to nsnbc Sunday morning that the gunfire on Sunday mainly comes from snipers and that the situation could deteriorate again any time. Popular committees are meeting on Sunday in an attempt to further deescalate the situation.

Members of both Fatah al-Islam and Harakat Fatah have been involved in the war in Syria. nsnbc’s source in Ain El-Helweh reports that the probable reason for the assassination and the subsequent eruption of clashes is linked to a “turf war” that involves drug and arms trafficking and the ever-changing alliances among Islamist fighters involved in the war in Syria.

More than 54,000 of the 450,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in Ain El-Helweh. The unofficial numbers are likely to exceed the official ones. Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees from Syria fled to Lebanon after the eruption of the war in 2011 and after the war was carried into the camps in Syria by Hamas and other Islamist organizations who would join the fight against the Syrian government.

Palestinian refugees in Syria have principally the same rights and privileges that Syrian citizens. These include the right to work and to run businesses legally. The Lebanese government, for its part, grants very few work permits to Palestinian refugees.

Lack of opportunity is according to nsnbc’s source in Ain El-Helweh one of the factors that drives refugees, and especially those who have been displaced twice, into the arms of Islamist groups who are involved in the war in Syria, in drug and arms running, and other criminal activities. Fatah al-Islam has been outlawed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January 2015, after discussions between Egypt and the UAE.

F/AK – nsnbc 04.03.2016