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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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
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Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
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UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
