Speaker Nabih Berri Thursday discussed with a visiting senior Fatah official the recent security developments in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps.
"The meeting highlighted the Palestinian conditions in Lebanon in light of the new attempts to ignite the security situation after more than eight months of calm," Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Movement's Central Committee, said after meeting Berri at his residence in Ain al-Tineh.
He accused malicious sides of the recent security scares at the south Lebanon refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, emphasizing that they are seeking to destabilize the camp and not Lebanon.
Fears of a major confrontation in Ain al-Hilweh were heightened earlier this month following the assassination of a senior Fatah Movement official in a car bomb near the camp.
Brig. Gen. Fathi Zeidan, the movement's secretary in Sidon's Mieh Mieh Camp, was killed in what was the first targeting of a Palestinian official outside a refugee camp in years.
Berri also briefed Ahmad on the efforts exerted by the Lebanese state to uncover the circumstances of the recent incidents, underlining the "importance of fortifying the cooperation between Palestinian and Lebanese security agencies to apprehend those who are trying to destabilize the camps."
The visiting official said Palestinians are "keen to preserve civil peace and stability in Lebanon and to cooperate with security agencies, in particular the army, and the political elite to avert any attempts to target the country and the camps.
The bombing that targeted Zeidan came during a new round of security incidents, particularly in Ain al-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in Lebanon.
The escalation of violence in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp has prompted efforts by both Palestinian and Lebanese officials to contain the situation, as developments in the camp could impact Sidon and neighboring areas.
Ain al-Hilweh has witnessed a number of skirmishes between rival Palestinian and Islamist factions over the past few weeks, and has been repeatedly rocked by gun violence and grenade attacks. It is home to a number of extremist militant groups, such as Fatah al-Islam and Jund al-Sham, both of which are considered terrorist organizations in Lebanon.
