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The latest round of fighting in Ain el-Helweh, near Saida, was initiated by Islamic extremist groups in an attempt to wrest control of the largest Palestinian camp in Lebanon, a scheme that was duly thwarted by the mainstream Fatah movement and other factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
“What happened in Ain el-Helweh was the making of a group of terrorists, many of whom have entered Lebanon recently. They operate under different names such as Usbat al-Nour, Ansar Allah, Jund al-Sham, and the Moslem youth,” Haytham Zaeiter, member of the Palestinian Central and National Councils, told This is Beirut.
He said that the Islamists tried to “kidnap” the camp, from the Taware’ neighborhood where they are mainly concentrated, and use it to serve different agendas.
“Their scheme goes beyond the camp. The target is also to destabilize security in Lebanon, especially now, in light of the presidential vacuum, the disintegration of state institutions and the faltering economic situation. They found an opportunity to carry out their plan,” Zaeiter contended.
However, he stressed that the camp’s national forces led by Fatah are determined to confront them by all means to avoid a repetition of the Nahr el-Bared conflict in 2007, when Islamists took control of the camp in north Lebanon and battled the Lebanese army for months. The conflict resulted in the destruction of the camp and the death of more than 200 Lebanese troops.
According to the Palestinian official, the Islamists operate at the behest of different parties with whom they share the same interests, mainly to weaken Fatah and other PLO factions.
Meanwhile, a precarious cease-fire prevails in Ain el-Helweh, where fierce fighting raged between July 29 and August 2, resulting in at least 12 deaths, dozens of injuries, and the displacement of more than 2000 camp residents.
However, risks of renewal of the fighting, which was triggered by the assassination of Fatah military official Abu Asharaf al Armouchi and four of his bodyguards, are high in the absence of a sustainable settlement, according to a Palestinian source.
Under the ceasefire’s conditions, an investigation committee is expected to identify and hand over the killers to the Lebanese authorities.
“Unless these conditions are met, the situation in the camp will remain volatile. But this will not happen, because the Islamists will not surrender those who have killed al-Armoushi,” the source said, adding “The issue is not over at all. The cease-fire is a temporary arrangement because the Islamist groups are entrenched inside the camp as well as in its vicinity.”
Ain el-Helweh is the largest among Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps, and has a strategic importance due to its influence over Saida, access to Beirut via the coastal road, and proximity to Israeli borders.
Fatah, the main PLO faction, has traditionally held influence and control over Ain el-Helweh, but in recent years, its leadership has faced many challenges from Salafists due to the camp’s significance as a Palestinian stronghold.
