MAR 29, 2024 JLM 65°F 01:23 AM 07:23 PM EST
Violent clashes between Hamas and Fatah in refugee camps in Lebanon - What's really going on?

In the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, there is great tension between Fatah and Hamas operatives following the violent events in the Burj a-Shamali refugee camp in the Tzur area.

While a Hamas delegation was preparing to travel to Cairo for meetings with Egyptian intelligence representatives who would also deal with Egypt's reconciliation proposal between Hamas and the PA, a violent conflict erupted between Fatah and Hamas in the Burj a-Shamali refugee camp in the Tzur area of ??Lebanon.

According to Lebanese sources, Fatah operatives opened fire on a funeral attended by thousands of residents of the camp, the funeral of Hamas operative Hussam Shahin, who was killed in a Hamas weapons and ammunition depot explosion hidden under the mosque of the Burj a-Shamali refugee camp.

As a result of the shooting, four people were killed and another seven were injured, including senior Hamas figure Zahar al-Jabarin, Saleh Al-Aruri's deputy and the person in charge of the organization of Israeli prisoners and missing persons.

On December 13, Hamas issued an official statement accusing the PA and its security forces in Lebanon of what it called "premeditated murder and assassination."

Ashraf Devor, the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon, condemned the shooting at the funeral and expressed condolences to Hamas and the Palestinian people.

The Lebanese army announced that the "Palestinian National Security Forces" had handed over the suspects in the Burj a-Shamali refugee camp and that an investigation had been opened into the affair.

At least one of the suspects in the shooting is a known activist of the Fatah movement.

The "national security forces" in Lebanon belong to the PLO and are subordinate to the PA and its security forces in Ramallah, a force that is supposed to protect Palestinian refugee camps from external enemies.

There is a fierce rivalry between the Fatah movement and Hamas over control of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and the impact on the 200,000 Palestinian residents living in them.

Lebanese security forces do not enter Palestinian refugee camps over the agreement between the Lebanese government and the PLO.

However, the refugee camps in Lebanon are a constant arena for violent power struggles between the various Palestinian factions.

Senior PA officials said that there was great concern among the Fatah movement about the Hamas movement's tendency to build a military force in the refugee camps in southern Lebanon and that it was not only a force that would act against Israel but also a force that would try to take over all refugee camps in Lebanon.

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