2023-08-01 19:07:36
► How are the ongoing clashes since July 29 in the Aïn El-Héloué camp explained?
For the fourth day in a row, violent clashes between fighters from Fatah, the organization led by the leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, and rival Islamist groups in the Aïn El-Héloué camp on Tuesday (August 1st) southern Lebanon. The two camps have been fighting there with automatic weapons and anti-tank rockets since the assassination of a member of an Islamist group, to avenge the death of a nationalist leader killed in fighting in March. Since Saturday, eleven people have been killed – including five Fatah members – and 40 injured.
Clashes occur regularly in this densely populated camp where many factions coexist, but these are the largest since 2017. Sporadic fighting then left nearly 20 dead and dozens injured.
Since Saturday, two schools have been damaged, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), which has suspended its services there. Several hundred residents fled the scene. This violence has even spilled over from the camp. Shells falling outside forced businesses and schools to close in the neighboring town of Saida, south of Beirut.
► What is the history of this camp?
The Aïn El-Héloué camp was established in 1948-1949, on the site of an Armenian camp created by the French in 1930. Despite its temporary nature at the time, it now has 63,000 Palestinian refugees, including 54,000 descendants of Palestinians forced into exile when the State of Israel was created in 1948, to which thousands more have fled the war in Syria in recent years.
Under an agreement dating back to 1969, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian camps, where security is provided by Palestinian factions and where there are lawless areas.
► What is the response of the Lebanese and Palestinian authorities?
Despite a ceasefire announced on Monday evening, sporadic clashes continued on Tuesday, with each group accusing the other of breaking the truce. Although the control of the camp escapes the Lebanese authorities, the interim Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, has warned that his country refuses “the use of Lebanese territory to settle foreign accounts at the expense of Lebanon and the Lebanese, in particular the inhabitants of Saida».
On Sunday, the Palestinian presidency had denounced “terrorist assassination” members of Fatah, while supporting the action of the Lebanese government to restore law and order.
These clashes are a sign of a power struggle between Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Ironically, as fighting raged on Sunday, the Fatah leader and his Hamas counterpart, Ismail Haniyeh, had a rare meeting in Al-Alamein, northern Egypt, after which they advocated the formation of an astonishing inter-Palestinian reconciliation committee, supposed to put an end to the divisions in the Occupied Territories.
According to experts, Hamas seeks to play an increasingly influential role in the Palestinian camps where Fatah is dominant. “Hamas’ action in the Palestinian refugee camps is part of a broader strategy to strengthen its presence among Palestinian communities outside Palestine, as part of an effort to ultimately lead these communities.explains Palestinian analyst Khaled Hroub in an interview with the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center. Hamas’ strategy is to lead the Palestinian people by any means possible. Against the background of the refugee camps in Lebanon, which are known to be heavily armed, it seems that Hamas is building up its military power. Fatah and other Palestinian factions dominate the refugees by various means, mainly military. »
#largest #palestinian #refugee #camp #ablaze