Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil. (Credit: OLJ archive photo)
BEIRUT — On Tuesday, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil said the situation in the Palestinian refugee camp Ain al-Hilweh "opens the way to a security disorder, even if limited."
Since Saturday, fighting has raged between Islamist factions - close to the Palestinian Hamas movement, an ally of Hezbollah - and the nationalist Fateh movement. The clashes left 11 people dead and some 40 wounded, according to the latest UNRWA report published Monday. The violence intensified and spread throughout the camp, with stray bullets reaching some neighboring districts in the city of Saida.
"The army represents the state's sovereignty over its borders, territory, and security," wrote Gebran Bassil on Twitter on Tuesday, on the occasion of Army Day. He expressed tribute "to all the martyrs whose value we know every time our sovereignty has been threatened, like what's happening in Ain al-Hilweh."
"This harms both Lebanon and the Palestinians, rekindles apprehensions, and opens the door to security disorder, even if limited," said Bassil. "We don't play with our sovereignty and security, and we are all responsible for protecting them," he concluded.
Ain al-Hilweh is home to over 54,000 registered Palestinian refugees as well as thousands of Palestinians who fled the civil war in Syria. This densely populated camp is regularly the scene of shootings and clashes, either due to personal disputes or tensions between different Palestinian factions. The clashes since Saturday are the deadliest in years.