[News] Lebanon - Why We Should Be Talking about Ain Al-Hilweh

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/why-we-should-be-talking-about-ain-al-hilweh-analysis/>
Why We Should Be Talking about Ain Al-Hilweh
------------------------------
Ain Al-Hilweh refugee camp following clashes. (Photo: UNRWA)

*By Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/ramzy-baroud-romana-rubeo>*

Starting on July 30, fighting erupted in Ain Al-Hilweh, one of the most
crowded Palestinian refugee camps in South Lebanon. What is the bigger
picture and why should Palestinians be talking about it?

Since the start of the fighting, at least 28 people have been killed and
many others wounded.
*How Did the Fighting Affect Life in the Camp? *

The latest round of fighting, starting in late July, has forced
<https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/lebanon-least-12000-children-displaced-ein-el-hilweh-camp-violence-enters-its-fifth-day>
thousands of Palestinian families to flee Ain Al-Hilweh, according to the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Also, artillery shells have reached areas outside the camp, and several
shells have fallen <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66779606> on
Lebanese military positions, injuring several military personnel, according
to the BBC.

Moreover, 6,000 Palestinian students are yet to return to school following
the start of the new school year, according to the UN Palestinian Refugees
Agency, UNRWA.

The latter is a direct outcome of the violence in the camp, but also due to
the fact that fighters belonging to the feuding groups are using UNRWA
schools and centers as their military bases.

So far, the economic losses in the camp have been estimated at 10 million
dollars.
*Who is Involved in the Fighting? *

The clashes involve members of the leading PLO movement, Fatah, movement
and a group called the “Muslim Youth”.

Despite repeated talks of a ceasefire, the fighting resumed on Wednesday.

According to Aljazeera Net, “the Fatah movement continues its efforts to
(militarily) advance despite its inability to achieve a decisive military
victory”.

For its part, the Muslim Youth is refusing to hand over those accused of
killing Abu Ashraf Al-Armoushi, a general of the Palestinian National
Security, last July.

On July 30, Al-Armoushi and a few others were killed in what is believed to
be an ambush by Muslim Youth fighters.

The most recent confrontations erupted after a month-long ceasefire, which
was reached in August under the auspices of the Palestinian Joint Action
Authority, which is composed of representatives of major Palestinian
political groups in South Lebanon.

Aljazeera Net reported that various heavy weapons and rocket-propelled
grenades are being used in the camp, especially B-10 and 60-caliber
mortars.
*Who is Trying to Stop the Fighting? *

Aside from the Palestinian Joint Action Authority, several Palestinian
factions have called on those engaged in the clashes to immediately end the
fighting and respect the ceasefire.

On August 1, soon after the first round of confrontations erupted, Hassan
Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, called for
a halt to the deadly clashes.

“This fighting must not continue because its repercussions are bad – for
the camp’s residents, for the dear Palestinian people … for the South, for
all of Lebanon,” Nasrallah said in a televised address.

During a visit to the camp, Azzam Al-Ahmad, member of the Fatah Central
Committee, said that “terrorist elements are exploiting the nature of the
camp… and it is clear that they have contacts with foreign intelligence
agencies (that are known) to us.”

Musa Abu Marzouq, Deputy Chief of Hamas’ Political Bureau Abroad, also
visited the camp on Wednesday, September 13, “in an attempt to contain the
situation in Ain Al-Hilweh and to reinforce the ceasefire that ended fierce
clashes among the refugees,” according to a statement issued by the Hamas
movement.

But in a joint statement by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, cited in Aljazeera
Net, the two leading Palestinian groups criticized those who are attempting
to prolong the infighting.

The reference was linked to statements by Fatah that the fighting will
continue until those responsible for the killing of Al-Armoushi, and others
are apprehended.
*What are the Independent Analysts Saying? *

In an article published in August, respected Palestinian journalist Abdel
Bari Atwan wrote
<https://www.raialyoum.com/what-was-the-pas-security-chief-doing-in-lebanon/>
that,

“What is happening in Ain al-Hilweh could well be an Israeli-sponsored
attempt to cause inter-Palestinian strife by replicating the Jenin camp
assault scenario in the camps in Lebanon, and delegating the task to the
PA.”

“The higher purpose is to undermine security and stability in South Lebanon
to divert the increasingly powerful Hezbollah from confronting the Israeli
occupation forces it has been increasingly defying and harassing on the
border,” Atwan continued.

“The PA turning its security forces’ attention to Lebanon crosses a red
line replete with risks, not just for Lebanon but also the Palestinian
cause.”

In a recent syndicated column, published as an editorial in the Palestine
Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud wrote that “the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud
Abbas (..) wants to ensure Fatah loyalists dominate the camp, hence
laboring to deny Palestinian rivals any role in South Lebanon.”

“Ain Al-Hilweh is important for the PA even though the PLO under Abbas’
leadership has largely disowned the refugees of South Lebanon and their
Right of Return; it has focused mostly on governing specific regions in the
West Bank under the auspices of the Israeli occupation.

“Yet, Lebanon’s refugees remain important for the PA for two main reasons:
one, as a source of validation for Fatah and, two, to stave off any
criticism of, let alone resistance to, the Western-backed Palestinian camp,
in Lebanon and everywhere else.”
*What is the Big Picture? *

Some Paelstinians are rightly worried that the fighting in Ain Al-Hilweh is
part of a larger political agenda aimed at disarmed Palestinian groups in
the camp.

Fatah has for years attempted to assert its control over Ain Al-Hilweh as
part of regaining political initiative, and bringing the camps under the
umbrella of the PA in Ramallah.

Others suggest that if the fighting continues, pressure will be applied on
the Lebanese army to regain control of the camp as it did in 2007 during
the clashes in Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp, in northern Lebanon.

In May 2007, the camp became the theater of fighting between the Lebanese
Army and members of Fatah Al-Islam. At least 10 people were killed,
including three army soldiers.

During the infighting, which ended on September 2 of the same year, most
inhabitants fled to the nearby Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp or to other
cities in Lebanon. At the end, hundreds of people were killed
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-fighting-idUSL0439935620070904>
from both sides, including many civilians.

The number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been in constant decline
due to the deteriorating economic, social and political conditions for
hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, mostly living in twelve
refugee camps in Lebanon.

Those refugees once represented one of the main pillars of Palestinian
resistance against Israel, and championed the discourse of the Right of
Return – the Palestinian refugees right to go back to historic Palestine,
as enshrined in United Nations Resolution 194.
*Why Palestinians Should Talk about Ain Al-Hilweh *

Simply hoping for the fighting to stop, blaming one side or another, or
ignoring the subject altogether will not suffice.

If a fundamental change happens to the status of the refugee camp in terms
of security or demographics, the impact could be dire for all Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon.

Palestinians must mobilize and speak out against the various political
designs to marginalize Palestinian refugees and their resistance in
Lebanon.

They must do so through a greater understanding of the political context
and the risks of allowing a specific political group to gain the upper hand
above all others.

But most importantly, they should protest against the killing of
Palestinians and other innocent people in Lebanon, while demanding greater
Palestinian social and economic rights in Lebanon as a whole.

*– Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine
Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with
Ilan Pappé, is ‘Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and
Intellectuals Speak Out’. His other books include ‘My Father was a Freedom
Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research
Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is
www.ramzybaroud.net <http://www.ramzybaroud.net/>*

*– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The
Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and
academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and
Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20230914/6e94f0ec/attachment.htm>