Fatah Stages a Show of Force in Refugee Camp
Fatah, the Palestinian party of Mahmoud Abbas, staged a ‘show of force’ on Sunday at Ain el-Helweh, a Lebanese refugee camp. This camp is the largest of Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps and also the site of recent conflicts between Fatah and other groups, including last Thursday’s fatal shooting of a Fatah member by an Islamist within the camp.
The demonstration consisted of nearly 400 Fatah members with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, marching down a main road in the camp while being watched by a large crowd. Two vehicles with anti-aircraft guns were also paraded inside the camp for the first time since the end of Lebanon’s civil war from 1975-1990. This demonstration also commemorated the fourth anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Refugee camps such as Ain el-Helweh are known to be breeding grounds for extremists and this particular camp has been linked to the terrorist extremist group, Al-Qaeda. One reason for the hostile atmosphere within these refugee camps is believed to be the fact that the Lebanese army does not monitor camp activity, therefore leaving camp security up to the Palestinian factions.
Venus Vahedi
