Residents of Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp are stuck in a cycle of conflict.
Since late July, Ain Al Hilweh has been rocked by on-and-off clashes between Fatah, the dominant faction in the camp, and hardline Islamist militants.
The latest uneasy ceasefire was announced last week and is currently holding, but previous ceasefires failed to stop fighting that has killed at least 31 people and displaced thousands.
Fatah has demanded militants give up the killers of one of its senior commanders by the end of the month.
With no signs that militants will surrender, more clashes in the camp – and more misery for its 70,000 inhabitants – seem likely.
“The main power in the Lebanese camps is in the hands of Fatah, and any threats to the group is interpreted as an attempt to take away Fatah’s authority,” said Suheil Natour, a Beirut-based Palestinian analyst and member of the leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The challenge to the Fatah's authority in the camp could also stand to benefit its political rival Hamas, the other prominent faction in Palestine and the camps. Fatah is the dominant party in the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, while Hamas controls Gaza.
How did the clashes start?
The clashes began when a Fatah gunman attempted to assassinate a leader of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jund Al Sham group, according to security sources within the camp.
The next day, Islamist militants killed Fatah security commander Abu Ashraf Al Armoushi and four bodyguards. Fatah retaliated with force and attempted to expel militant groups from the camp.
“When Al Armoushi was killed in this deliberate way, it constituted a public insult to their leadership as the leader of the Palestinian struggle for refugees,” said Mr Natour.
Fatah has conditioned a long-term truce upon the surrender of Mr Armoushi’s killers and the withdrawal of Islamist groups barricaded inside two UN compounds that host the camp’s schools.
Which militants is Fatah fighting?
Most of the street battles have pitted Fatah mostly against Jund Al Sham, the Shabab Al Muslim group, and their affiliates.
By long-standing convention, the Lebanese state does not have jurisdiction over Palestinian refugee camps, leaving residents to handle security.
In Ain Al Hilweh, radical Islamist groups like Jund Al Sham have exploited the lack of state oversight and loose internal security to establish their influence, which Fatah has been unable to subdue.
According to Fatah and Hamas officials, the groups are made up of Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians, and are divided ideologically.
“These groups are not ideologically united and they’re extremely limited in size – less than a hundred people,” said Ayman Shanaa, the Hamas representative for Saida.
What role is Hamas playing?
Hamas’s status as a relatively moderate Islamist party has allowed it to play a mediating role between hardline militants and Fatah.
Publicly, Hamas has backed Fatah’s demands for the surrender of Mr Armoushi’s killers and the dismantling of hardline groups.
“If we are able to achieve a lasting ceasefire, and if we present a united and strategic Palestinian front, we would be able to dismantle these groups and prevent them from establishing a permanent role in Ain Al Hilweh,” Hamas’s Mr Shanaa said.
But some in Fatah – including senior official Azzam Al Ahmad, a member of the group’s central committee – have accused Hamas of playing a role in the fighting, which Hamas denies.
For analyst Suheil Natour, “The big question is: where do they [hardline Islamists] get powerful ammunition to supply them for battles? Where do they get funding?”
“This is not possible unless one or more of the larger Islamic organisations are behind it.”
Hamas is strategically seeking a greater role in Ain Al Hilweh to expand its influence at Fatah’s expense, he said.
The strategy may already be working.
Meetings between Fatah and Hamas to discuss the clashes seem to have given Hamas a larger role in administering security in Ain Al Hilweh, which was traditionally primarily the job of Fatah’s National Security Forces.
Now, both parties have pledged to strengthen a pre-existing Joint Force, comprising the camp’s varying Palestinian factions including both Hamas and Fatah, to enforce camp security.
Fatah faces a lose-lose situation, said Mr Natour.
“Fatah loses either way. They lose popular support if they don’t get [Islamist surrender]. And they lose if the battle continues. In every scenario, Fatah loses,” he said.
Residents sick of politics
Both Lebanese and Fatah leaders have threatened the possibility of army intervention, which could worsen conditions in the overcrowded and poverty-stricken camp and destabilise Lebanon itself.
A camp resident, speaking under condition of anonymity due to his position as a member of Ain Al Hilweh’s governing Popular Committees, said he was disgusted by the fighting and the factions.
“Is this rivalry worth destroying the camp?” he asked. “They wont give us any choice besides displacement or death. Why are those always the only options for Palestinians?”
For over seven decades Lebanon's refugee camps have sheltered Palestinians forcibly expelled from their land during what they refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe, which saw the creation of Israel in 1948.
“Frankly, the people of Ain al Hilweh are sick of both Fatah and the Islamists,” Mr Natour said. “Because the violence is being levelled at the residents, instead of at Israel.”
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
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Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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The National's picks
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
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South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
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How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
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Rating: 1/5
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
