The Joint Palestinian Action Committee meeting at the headquarters of the Palestinian Embassy in Lebanon, Aug. 22, 2023. (Courtesy of: Mountasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — After a meeting lasting several hours, the Joint Palestinian Action Committee called Tuesday for security to be guaranteed inside the Ain al-Hilweh camp and for all those "responsible" for the deadly late July clashes to be handed over to the authorities.
The fighting, which began after the assassination of Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi, a Fatah-affiliated security chief, left at least 13 people dead and displaced some 350 families from the camp, which is located just outside Saida and is home to around 80,000 of the country's 250,000 Palestinian refugees.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting, the participants said they had agreed on the measures to be taken, in particular handing over those suspected of having killed Armoushi and others who were responsible for the clashes.
Finally, they reiterated "the need to ensure security inside the camp and in its vicinity."
Also on Tuesday, Saida mayor Hazem Khodr Badih met with the head of the Higher Relief Committee Mohammad Kheir on Tuesday and gave him the names of residents whose homes were damaged by the clashes in Saida's Taamir district, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The Higher Relief Committee will send people to examine the scene.
The deadly clashes, which lasted several days, displaced many families from the camp. On Friday, UNRWA announced a temporary 24-hour suspension of its operations in the camp to protest against the continued presence of combatants in its schools and facilities. However, it resumed some services on Saturday morning.
Amid the clashes, some Gulf countries issued travel warnings to their citizens. Saudi Arabia called on its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country, while others, like Qatar, asked them to be vigilant.