According to Timör Göksel, a former spokesperson of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, the outbreak of heavy fighting this weekend is just an incident and not the start of a new wave of violence.
 |
|
In the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr al-Bared in in the north of Lebanon, the Lebanese army is fighting with Fatah al-Islam supporters |
The fighting escalated when the robbers fled to Nahr al-Bared a Palestinian refugee camp just outside Tripoli. The militant Fatah Al-Islam movement came to the aid of the bank robbers.
Increasing tension
The Lebanese army bombarded Fatah Al-Islam positions in the camp, a move that was loudly applauded by people who had come to watch the fighting.
The applause is indicative of the increasing tension between ordinary Lebanese and the thousands of Palestinians who live in the country. Most of them have been in refugee camps since the creation of Israel in 1948.
Bombardment
Abu Yazan, one of Fatah Al-Islam's most important leaders was allegedly killed during the army's bombardment of the refugee camp. Fatah Al-Islam is a relatively small militant group that grew out of the pro-Syrian Fatah Intifada, which in turn split from Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in 1980.
According to some Lebanese security officials, the Sunni Fatah Al-Islam has strong links to al-Qaeda. Other security officials say Fatah Al-Islam is controlled by the Syrian government, which is using it to try and further destabilise the situation in Lebanon.
The group is led by Shakir Youssef al-Abssi, a Palestinian who lives in Syria. In 2004, al-Abssi was sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Jordan for killing US diplomat Lawrence Foley in Amman in 2002. Several Palestinian groups have announced their opposition to Fatah Al-Islam's ideology.
Connection with Rafiq murder denied
The fighting in Lebanon broke out shortly after the United Nations began discussing a resolution that recommends creating a tribunal to investigate the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. There is a very good chance that an investigation would prove that Syria was behind the murder.
Mr Göksel says there is no connection between the fighting and the proposed UN tribunal, although the timing has led others to question the reasons behind the violence. Mr Göksel says: "The fighting is a direct result of the bank robbery in Amyoun. I don't believe that it was planned in order to frustrate the tribunal."
 |
 |
|
Listen to an interview with Timör Göksel from Newsline |
|
Around 400,000 Palestinians are living in refugee camps in Lebanon at the moment. Beirut has little control over the camps and a 1969 agreement bars the army from entering the camps. Militant Palestinian groups usually control them; poverty is rife and the refugees have few rights. They have almost no access to health care and are not allowed to work in Lebanon.
Many Lebanese blame the Palestinians for the 1975 until 1990 Lebanese civil war. Palestinian militants were using Lebanon as a base from which to launch attacks on Israel.
Lebanon is one of the most complicated and divided countries in the Middle East. The populace is made up of Christians, Muslims and Druses. For more than 30 years, Lebanon has been a key player in the problems between Israel and the Palestinians.
*RNW Translation (jc/fd)
Tags: bank robbery, bombing, Fatah AL-Islam, Lebanon, Palestinians, Shakir Youssef al-Abssi