Palestinian refugees in Lebanon launched a campaign Friday to boycott US goods in solidarity with the Palestinian uprising against Israel, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
It said that dozens of youths set fire to various US-made products over piles of US and Israeli flags at the Bas, Rashidieh, and Bourj Shemali refugee camps near Tyre.
At the entrances of the camps, young men and women held banners calling for the boycott of products made in the US, said the paper.
"Show your support for the children of the Intifada, who throw stones against Israeli tanks and who face shots with their bare chests," a banner read.
They also raised a picture of 12-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Durra, who became the symbol of the Intifada after he was shot by Israeli troops while cowering in his father's arms in the Gaza Strip, according to the daily.
"It's the price of a US-made cigarette box or a drink that paid for the bullet that killed Durra," said a banner.
A placard, signed by the 'Boycott Committee of US-Made Products', called for a "search for substitutes of American goods."
The committee was made up of representatives of several Palestinian opposition parties, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDLP).
Fateh movement, meanwhile, has declared a state of alert among its ranks in the camps amid escalating clashes between Israel and the Palestinians, said the paper.
Fateh's representative in Lebanon, Sultan Abul-Aynayn, said that all camps took precautions fearing an Israeli attack.
Abul-Aynayn added that Palestinians rejected the possibility that "Lebanon becomes victim of another Israeli aggression."
Senior Fateh commander, Munir Maqdah, said the alert was declared "to defend the camps and Lebanon in view of the Israeli threats."
He added that such measures would be taken as long as Israelis kill Palestinians and threaten Lebanon. "The Israeli occupation will not know security nor stability as long as one inch of our Palestinian and Arab land is occupied." - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
