Fights flared up again on Tuesday afternoon in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Helweh between the pro-Iranian fundamentalist Palestinian groups and Fatah, the main component of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which reports to the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and is chaired by Mahmoud Abbas.
The fights erupted less than twenty-four hours after the ceasefire agreement was reached on Monday by the warring Palestinian factions at a special meeting chaired by the Director of General Security, General Elias Baissari.
The meeting also discussed “implementing the agreements reached between the General Security and the Palestinian Joint Working Committee to bring to justice the killers” of Fatah leader Abu Ashraf Armouchi and his four bodyguards, who were killed in an ambush last July.
Fatah had set an ultimatum for the murderers to be handed over to the relevant authorities, but the concerned Palestinian factions ignored it.
The detonations of RPGs exchanged during the fighting echoed throughout Saida, reports our local correspondent, Victoria Werling. Shells even fell in certain parts of the city, which have become deserted, mainly due to the stray bullets. Security forces have asked motorists to stay off the Saida-Tyr freeway due to falling shells and stray bullets.
However, some are hopeful that the political momentum generated by the arrival of Palestinian envoys in Lebanon will help bring about a lasting ceasefire. After Palestinian Labor Minister Azzam el-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah central committee, arrived in Beirut on Monday evening, Hamas vice president Moussa Abou Marzouk began a multiple-day visit to Beirut on Tuesday.
The two are due to hold a series of meetings with Lebanese officials to try to contain the situation in Ain el-Helweh. They held a coordination meeting at the headquarters of the Palestinian embassy in Beirut, in the evening.
