An armed Palestinian fighter in an UNRWA school, Sept. 29, 2023 in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, South Lebanon. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Tensions rose Monday among armed Palestinian groups in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Saida, a day after Islamist militants killed the bodyguard of a brother of the head of Fatah’s armed wing in Lebanon.
The bodyguard of Mounir Moqdah's brother was killed in what sources described as a personal dispute.
A meeting of the camp’s security committee on Monday failed to secure the handover of the suspected killer of Imad al-Sarih.
The victim’s family blocked the camp’s western entrance from al-Hasbah side, demanding the suspect be handed over. The alleged attacker, Omar al-Shayeb, remains in hiding.
Palestinian national and Islamist factions in the Saida area condemned the killing and called for the suspect to be handed over to Lebanese authorities.
In August 2024, Khalil Maqdah — another brother of Mounir Maqdah — was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Saida, a month before the escalation into open war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Ain al-Hilweh hosts about 80,000 Palestinian refugees and has repeatedly seen clashes driven by personal disputes and tensions among rival factions.
In August 2023, fighting between Fatah, which is aligned with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Islamist groups such as Jund al-Sham and al-Shabab al-Muslim killed at least 30 people.
Lebanese authorities launched a process last year to disarm Palestinian camps. While some factions, including Fatah, have handed over parts of their arsenals, groups aligned with Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have resisted. At least seven of Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian camps are now fully under state control.
The tensions come as the war between Hezbollah and Israel enters its fifth week, with Israeli strikes killing over 1,240 people.
Reporting by our regional correspondent, Mountasser Abdallah.
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