Hizbullah on Zaidan Assassination: Part of 'Hidden Hands' Plot for Camps

Hizbullah condemned Wednesday the “vicious” assassination of Fatah Movement top official Fathi Zaidan in Sidon on Tuesday, warning that it is “part of a scheme” that is being plotted against the Palestinian refugee camps and the neighboring areas.

“This criminal operation is part of the scheme that is being plotted by hidden hands for the camps and their surroundings in Sidon and the South,” the party warned in a statement.

“This requires vigilance and the highest levels of awareness and wisdom, in addition to full coordination with Lebanese security forces, topped by the Lebanese army, in order to foil this criminal plot,” Hizbullah added.

Zaidan, Fatah's most senior official in the southern Mieh Mieh camp, was killed Tuesday when an explosive device planted in a car he was driving went off in the southern city of Sidon near the entrance of the restive Ain el-Hilweh camp.

Hizbullah called on Lebanese authorities to “exert utmost efforts to identify the criminals and take the severest legal measures against them to prevent them from continuing their crimes and tampering with the security of our people in the camp.”

“This would protect the Palestinian brothers and entire Lebanon from the threats emanating from these crimes,” the party added.

More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in Lebanon with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and many live in squalid conditions in 12 official camps.

The camps are administered by Palestinian officials and security forces, rather than the Lebanese authorities.

In recent years, tensions have risen between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the Jund al-Sham Islamist group, especially in the Ain el-Hilweh camp near Sidon.

The rival factions in Ain el-Hilweh have clashed several times in the past year, with each side accusing each other of assassination attempts.

Ain el-Hilweh has become the scene of score-settling between several factions, and a breeding ground for extremist groups that have flourished on the back of the poverty afflicting the camp.

Y.R.

M.T.