Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
An uneasy calm has returned to Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon as a ceasefire halted clashes between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's mainstream Fatah faction and the Islamist movement Usbat al-Ansar.
At least two people were killed in the clashes which broke out following the murder of Fatah officer Mohammed Tamim in Ain el-Hiwleh.
A Palestinian official said the small Islamist movement Usbat al-Ansar ambushed Tamim at the main entrance to the camp.
He said the killing prompted gun battles between supporters of the two rival factions who were using rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.
The other fatality was a woman identified as Nejmah Ali Younes.
Lebanese troops cordoned off all entrances to Ain el-Hilweh as many residents fled in fear, seeking refuge in a nearby mosque.
The Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian camps, leaving security inside the shantytowns in Palestinian hands.
Other sources say 4 were killed.
I cannot be certain, but I do not recall any UN fact-finding missions after the 2007 Lebanon fighting in the camps that killed hundreds. Maybe the UN only cares about Palestinian Arab lives when they are killed by certain, special types of people.
