Member of Fatah Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad pointed the finger at Lebanese parties over the latest security turmoil rocking Ein al-Hilweh Camp for Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon.
According to Wednesday reports by Lebanese media outlets al-Ahmad said the flames of the deadly strife in Ein al-Hilweh were fanned right after Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Lebanon.
This is the first time a senior Fatah leader holds Lebanese parties responsible for the deteriorating security situation in Ein al-Hilweh.
Al-Ahmad’s statements were released a few days after Abbas pushed for the intervention of the Lebanese army in Ein al-Hilweh Camp.
Tension flared up Tuesday as armed clashes in the camp left a child dead.
Last week clashes between Fatah and extremist groups left a number of refugees wounded just a couple of days after Abbas popped in the Lebanese territories.
Lebanese outlets said a proposal put forth by Abbas during his meeting with Lebanese president Michel Aoun called for military intervention by the Lebanese army into Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
Lebanese Chief Editor of the Janoubiya news site Ali al-Amin said Aoun refused the proposal.
He added that the suggestion elucidates the reasons behind the withdrawal of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the security committee in Ein al-Hilweh and other refugee camps just one week before Abbas’s arrival in Beirut.
Ein Al-Hilweh Camp in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon is home to over 80000 Palestinian refugees.
According to UN figures 460000 Palestinian refugees have sought shelter in Lebanon after they fled occupied Palestine following the mass exodus of 1948.
