A crowd in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh during the funeral of Samer al-Hajj, the security chief of Hamas in the camp, on Aug. 10, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
At the northern entrance of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, southern Lebanon, Ahmad proudly walks up to a yellowed, half-torn portrait of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and reveals the defaced image. “They scratched his eyes… I hate him,” he says sharply.The boy’s comment doesn’t go unnoticed by Fatah escorts guarding access to the camp, and it reflects the broader mood on the ground. Abbas, on a recent official visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Palestinian refugee camps, faced widespread criticism from Palestinian residents in Lebanon. Need the context? Hacking Lebanese Politics #10: Lebanon’s Palestinian camps and the 1969 Cairo Agreement “Abu Mazen came — what did he actually do?” asks Jaber, a taxi driver in his 30s, slamming his trunk. He rattles off grievances: his $10 daily wage, long waits at...
At the northern entrance of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, southern Lebanon, Ahmad proudly walks up to a yellowed, half-torn portrait of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and reveals the defaced image. “They scratched his eyes… I hate him,” he says sharply.The boy’s comment doesn’t go unnoticed by Fatah escorts guarding access to the camp, and it reflects the broader mood on the ground. Abbas, on a recent official visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Palestinian refugee camps, faced widespread criticism from Palestinian residents in Lebanon. Need the context? Hacking Lebanese Politics #10: Lebanon’s Palestinian camps and the 1969 Cairo Agreement “Abu Mazen came — what did he actually do?” asks Jaber, a taxi driver in his 30s, slamming his trunk. He rattles off grievances: his $10 daily...