A cautious calm prevails in Ain al-Hilweh camp following a resurgence of violent clashes between Fatah movement and armed Islamic factions. Lebanese and Palestinian forces have worked to de-escalate the situation after a series of intensive communications.
Violent clashes erupted late Thursday to Friday in Ain al-Hilweh camp between the Fatah movement and armed groups, which involved the use of RPGs. Reports indicate that an agreement was reached to cease fire in the camp located in southern Lebanon, with hopes that all parties will adhere to this agreement. According to eyewitnesses, the clashes intensified around the al-Tamweel neighborhood, with sounds of shelling echoing throughout Sidon, leading to significant displacement among residents in the nearby areas.
A statement from Fatah and the Palestinian National Security Forces mentioned: "Fatah and the Palestinian National Security forces thwarted an attempted infiltration and attack carried out by terrorist gangs from the murderers of martyr General Abu Ashraf Al-Armoushi and his companions on Fatah’s headquarters, and responded to the unsuccessful attack executed by criminal gangs aimed at undermining the outcomes of the joint Palestinian action committee meeting.” Amid ongoing random gunfire and shelling from these groups, the National Security Forces and Fatah are working to respond to the sources of the fire and repel this brutal attack on our people and camp.
Social media circulated a recording via radio by one of the Jund al-Sham cadres, Haitham al-Shaabi, referencing the “beginning of the cleansing of the camp from the apostates.”
The incidents may be a consequence of meetings held yesterday; Palestinian sources indicated that eight wanted individuals were supposed to be handed over by today at the latest. They added: “Preparations began for any security event as the handover of those wanted for the assassination of National Security chief Abu Ashraf Al-Armoushi was delayed.”
Immediately after the clashes erupted, the Lebanese army took security measures around the camp, while Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri initiated a round of communications with Palestinian and other Lebanese leaders to calm the situation in the camp. Berri had warned during the commemoration of Imam Musa al-Sadr’s disappearance of a return of armed conflict within the camp, stating: “If this continues or recurs, God forbid, it would be like ‘daggers in the backs of resistance fighters in Palestinian territories,’ and it is a suspicious act regardless of who is behind it.”
For its part, the "Joint Palestinian Action Committee in Lebanon" called for a cease-fire in Ain al-Hilweh camp, allowing the joint Palestinian security force in the camp and the Joint Action Committee in Sidon to fulfill their duties and implement what has been assigned to them by the Action Committee in Lebanon.
