SIDON, Lebanon: A senior Palestinian official wrapped up a five-day visit to Beirut Friday by pledging that refugee camps would not serve as a shelter for outlaws or people wanted by Lebanese authorities.
The remarks by Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Movement’s Central Committee, after holding talks with Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, signaled readiness among Palestinian factions to cooperate with Lebanese authorities to find a peaceful solution to the problem of fugitives Shadi Mawlawi and Osama Mansour.
The Islamist fugitives are Lebanon’s most-wanted, who, according to Machnouk, are hiding in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.
“Palestinian camps will not be a place of shelter or [provide] protection for any fugitive in Lebanon or anyone who harms Lebanon for a criminal or political reason,” Ahmad told reporters after meeting Machnouk. “The camps’ security is an indivisible part of Lebanon’s security. Palestinian camps will not be open to any wanted people or outlaws.”
Asked if his remarks meant that Palestinian factions were ready to hand over wanted people hiding in Ain al-Hilweh to Lebanese authorities, Ahmad said: “My statement is clear. We are committed to Lebanon’s security. When we are told that someone is a fugitive, we will cooperate until this person leaves the camp and is in the hands of Lebanese authorities. I expect news about this subject in the coming hours.”
Mawlawi and Mansour, who fled Tripoli after the Lebanese Army crushed Islamist militants in the northern city in October, are wanted for their links to the Jan. 10 twin suicide bombing in the Jabal Mohsen district that killed at least nine people and wounded more than 30 others. They are also wanted in connection to a series of suicide bomb attempts that have been foiled by the Army.
Ahmad, who is responsible for Lebanese-Palestinian relations, has held talks focusing on the camps’ security with Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi and security officials.
His visit comes at a delicate time, when Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are again in the limelight and under political and media scrutiny. In particular, Ain al-Hilweh, the largest of Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps, is being closely monitored following the Tripoli twin bombings.
“Various Palestinian factions are united over the protection and stability of Palestinian camps with full and firm Palestinian commitment to the Lebanese state’s sovereignty and authority over all Lebanese territories, including the Palestinian camps,” Ahmad said.
He added that he had discussed with Machnouk attempts by local, regional and international powers to exploit the Palestinian camps and use them to harm Lebanon’s stability and security.
Palestinian sources said Ahmad’s talks with Lebanese officials centered on finding a peaceful solution to the issue of fugitives in Ain al-Hilweh.
Islamist groups in Ain al-Hilweh have asked their representatives to contact militant Muslims, who reportedly know the whereabouts of Mawlawi and Mansour, to convince the two fugitives to secretly leave the camp in order to avert a military clash with the Lebanese Army stationed at the camp’s entrances, the sources said.
Although the response to the Islamist groups’ demand was only partially positive, it may bear fruit, with Mawlawi and Mansour leaving the camp in the next few hours in the same manner they had entered it, the sources said.
Hamas official Ahmad Abdel-Hadi confirmed that Mawlawi was hiding in Ain al-Hilweh.
“We are working with all [Palestinian] forces to bring him out of the camp,” Abdel-Hadi told The Daily Star. “We assure everyone that efforts are underway to solve the problem. There will be no trouble. The Mawlawi case will be finished within days.”
Sheikh Abu Sharif Akel, a spokesman for the militant group Osbat al-Ansar, rejected a military action in the camp to solve the problem of the fugitives. He said his group has begun contacts with the party that is giving shelter to Mawlawi in order to convince him to leave Ain al-Hilweh.
Earlier Friday, Ahmad said Lebanese and Palestinian authorities would coordinate efforts to peacefully resolve the issue of fugitives. “There is a continuous, steady and solid coordination between the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Fatah Movement, the Future Movement and [MP] Bahia Hariri,” Ahmad said after meeting with the Sidon lawmaker in Majdalyoun.
When asked about whether he has received a list of names of wanted suspects in Ain al-Hilweh, he said: “It is not a list but a few names that we haven’t heard of from Lebanese officials until two days ago.”
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