Senior Palestinian Official Rejects Attempts to Turn Camps into Fugitives Safe Haven

Azzam al-Ahmad, aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, stressed on Wednesday that the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon will never become a safe haven for fugitives.

“The ties between Lebanon and Palestine are strong and coordination is ongoing on different levels,” al-Ahmad said after talks with General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim at his residence in presence of the Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour.

He underlined that the Palestinians in Lebanon have a clear policy and are committed to security and stability, rejecting any attempts to involve the Palestinian camps into the “unfortunate developments in the region.”

Media reports said that several fugitives, including Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir, salafist-turned singer Fadel Shaker, Shadi al-Mawlawi and Osama Mansour, have fled to Ain el-Hilweh and are running cells that are planning attacks against Lebanese interests.

Al-Ahmad considered the stability and security of camps as “a common Palestinian-Lebanese national interest.”

He arrived on Monday in Lebanon for talks with senior Lebanese and high-ranking Fatah movement officials.

He later met with Speaker Nabih Berri, condemning “attempts to create strife between Lebanese and Palestinian factions.”

“The security and stability of Palestinian refugee camps is our responsibility and the responsibility of the Lebanese state,” he added.

“We agreed with the speaker on uniting our efforts to resist attempts to destabilize Lebanon and Palestinian refugee camps,” he said.

In addition, al-Ahmad condemned Israel's strike on Syria's al-Quneitra region on Sunday, saying that it seeks to create tensions in Lebanon.

“Hizbullah's martyrs are martyrs in the name of defending Arab causes, including the Palestinian cause,” he stressed.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper, his visit aims at resolving a recent crisis that hit the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh over the staging of two ceremonies.

The two ceremonies were expected to be held on the occasion of the launching of the Fatah movement in Lebanon.

The daily reported that Abbas initially tasked Tawfik Tirawi, head of the PA General Intelligence Service in the West Bank, with the mission.

Located near the southern city of Sidon, Ain el-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian camp in the country and is home to about 50,000 refugees.

It is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.

Tension frequently surges in the camp as a result of armed disputes between the different Palestinian factions.

By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves.

H.K./M.T.

G.K.