SIDON, Lebanon: The Higher Palestinian Security Committee in Lebanon is preparing to implement a new security plan in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp following a security incident over the weekend.
The plan includes erecting new checkpoints and strengthening the joint elite force’s positions.
The new security measures will focus on the camp’s Tahtani Street and the borders of the Tawari quarter, an adjacent neighborhood that sits between the Taamir neighborhood and the camp itself.
The Lebanese Army is currently deployed in the area connecting Taamir to the Tawari neighborhood, which is considered to be a stronghold for Islamists.
The move was hastened by the killing of Marwan Issa, a member of the Hezbollah-linked Resistance Brigades, who was murdered in the camp Sunday.
Issa was believed to have visited Ain al-Hilweh to complete an arms deal with Khaled Kaawash, a Palestinian, and Rabih Serhal, a Syrian. The two are suspects in his killing and were handed over to the Lebanese government for investigation.
Fingers have also been pointed at members of Al-Shabab al-Muslim, many of whom reside in the Tawari neighborhood. It is believed that Mohammad and Haitham al-Shaabi, Palestinian nationals with links to Shabab al-Muslim, may have also had a hand in the murder.
Shabab al-Muslim includes the extremist groups Fatah al-Islam and Jund al-Sham.
According to Palestinian sources, the joint elite force will take unprecedented measures to improve security in the camp, including strengthening the Kifah checkpoint in the Tahtani neighborhood, as well as checkpoints at Tawari’s entrance and in Baraksat.
The checkpoints will be equipped and manned by members of the joint elite force, which will see its numbers rise from 225 to 350.
The aim of the measures is to restrict the movement of armed groups from the Tawari neighborhood into the heart of the camp. Militants from Tawari are believed to be behind security incidents which have plagued Ain al-Hilweh over the years, including a number of assassinations.
The repeated security threats faced by the camp, and new information on those behind them, has prompted both national and Islamic Palestinian factions to explore other options to halt the fighting, sources said.
One option is to isolate the areas in the camp that are strongholds for militants, such as Tawari. A worst-case scenario would be to designate the neighborhood as no longer belonging to the Ain al-Hilweh camp, removing political cover for those seeking refuge there.
Sources said strengthening the three checkpoints at the Tawari neighborhood’s eastern and western entrances could help isolate militants in the neighborhood.
Ain al-Hilweh’s Palestinian factions have expressed their resentment of Al-Shabab al-Muslim, sources acquainted with the groups said. They added that the group’s position has been weakened in the eyes of the Islamist factions and camp residents.
They argue that the prompt decision by the Islamist Osbat al-Ansar and the Islamic Jihad Movement to hand over suspects and support the Palestinian factions is evidence of this resentment.
It’s expected that the new security measures will be implemented on the ground within a few days, following a series of talks between the Higher Palestinian Security Committee and the joint elite force, in coordination with Lebanese Army Intelligence.
The head of the joint elite force in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Munir Maqdah, stressed Thursday that the security situation in Ain al-Hilweh would remain under control.
“Any person whose name comes out of the inquiry into Marwan Issa’s death will be asked to come in for investigation,” Maqdah said. “We have made a decision to strengthen all security forces’ positions in the camp in order to preserve both its security and that of neighboring areas.”
During a visit to Sidon MP Bahia Hariri, head of Palestinian National Security Sobhi Abu Arab said the probe into Issa’s death was ongoing.
Abu Arab informed Hariri of the recent incident Thursday, and reassured her that the situation in the camp was under control.
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