Ain el-Hilweh Residents Protest Army Measures

Palestinian refugees held a sit-in on Monday near the southern gate of the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp that lies near the southern city of Sidon to protest measures undertaken by the army.

The state-run National News Agency reported that Abou Ahmed Fadel, spokesman for Hamas movement in the south, contacted the army command, specifically, the intelligence bureau to “urging on the army to reduce its measure.”

“Cooperation between the Palestinians and the Lebanese army is ongoing,” Fadel said, considering that the “safety of Lebanon is that of the Palestinians.”

Sobhi Abu Arab, the head of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon, also discussed with head of the army's Intelligence Bureau in the South Ali Shahrour ways to reduce the security measures carried out by the military at the entrances of the refugees camp.

“Shahrour pledged that the army will facilitate the measures swiftly,” Abou Arab said.

The army intensified its security measures near Ain el-Hilweh on Sunday and began checking the identification papers of passers-by in the area.

The Palestinian Follow-Up Committee, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Fatah and the Palestinian National Security Forces slammed on Saturday haphazard accusations against Ain el-Hilweh refugees camp after the assassination of ex-Finance Minister and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's adviser, Mohammed Shatah.

Shatah, 62, was killed in a car bombing in downtown Beirut on Friday morning as he headed to a meeting of the March 14 coalition at the Center House.

A Honda CRV that blew up was rigged with up to 60 kilograms of explosives, and parked along Shatah's route. The blast struck the former minister's SUV, killing him, his driver and six others.

Scores of people were injured in the bombing, mainly from flying glass in nearby office buildings and hotels.

The statement condemned a report saying that the Honda used in the bombing was stolen in early 2013 from the coastal town of Rmeileh in the Shouf district and then taken to the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in the southern city of Sidon.

“Moussa Khodr Moussa handed himself over to the Lebanese security agencies 10 months ago and testified that he had stolen the car,” the committee said in a statement.

It added “that Mohammed Saleh, who is known as Mohammed al-Sarii, was handed over to the Lebanese security agencies after the report was published but he was released after he was acquitted.”

The report published on Friday had said that Moussa M. and another called Mohammed S. stole the vehicle that carries a license plate with the number 177647/S.

The sources noted that Moussa M. and Mohammed al-Sarii were members of the Fatah al-Islam who receive their orders from the group's top official Haitham al-Shaabi.