Khaled Mechaal met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati Thursday night. (Credit: Faisal al-Tamimi/AFP)
BEIRUT – Khaled Mechaal, head of Hamas’s political bureau abroad, met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati Thursday evening and once again expressed his organization’s support for the “stability and security” of Lebanon.
Here’s what we know:
• Mechaal and Mikati discussed developments related to the Palestinian cause and the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, including the decline in UNRWA aid.
• The two men agreed to work at an Arab and international level to “ensure a sufficient budget” for the UN agency that is a major service provider in Palestinian refugee camps in the Levant.
• Mechaal reiterated his message of support for Lebanon’s stability and security and his organization’s commitment to the same in Palestinian refugee camps, a message he also delivered to Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Abd al-Latif Derian yesterday.
• He also reiterated his call for the gunmen who opened fire on a funeral Sunday in Burj al-Shemali refugee camp, members of the Fatah movement according to Hamas, to be tried by the Lebanese authorities.