Posted on 08/16/2002 1:33:54 PM PDT by knighthawk
Islamic groups exert growing influence
An alliance of Islamist factions is claiming ground in the political arena
After three days of clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp between Fatah members and Islamist insurgents, a new political dynamic has emerged, leaving Fatah, which has long enjoyed unilateral control of the camp, confronting the growing influence of Islamist groups.
Observers say that an alliance of Islamist factions, including Esbat al-Ansar, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Sheikh Jamal Khattab’s movement, has entered the camp’s political arena and is proving to be just as if not more than influential as Fatah.
Fatah’s inability to bring about a quick resolution to the recent conflict with the Dinnieh rebels was a clear sign of the movement’s declining influence in the camp, an informed source told The Daily Star.
“This means that Fatah has emerged a big loser from the recent events. This latest slap in the face was evident for Fatah,” the source said. “They were not able to fight back against the Dinnieh gunmen, who number only 15, when Fatah had hundreds of armed men.”
The “Dinnieh group” is shorthand for a group of Islamist fighters who fled to Ain al-Hilweh from North Lebanon and elsewhere in the wake of previous clashes with state forces.
Esbat al-Ansar, on the other hand, while initially maintaining a distance from the conflict, was quickly able to enforce a resolution by ironing out a compromise satisfactory to everyone.
This showed that the Islamist political forces, specifically Esbat al-Ansar and Hamas, were now playing a prominent and decisive role in resolving disputes in the wake of the decline in Fatah’s traditional influence over the camp.
Throughout the conflict, Fatah’s role was diminished, as it was relegated to accepting or refusing solutions rather than imposing them.
The prominence of the Islamist movements was first seen during the conflict between the Lebanese Army and Badih Hamadeh, who shot dead three Lebanese soldiers and fled to the camp before he was later handed over to the Lebanese authorities. The role played by the Islamic factions was decisive in mediating the conflict.
As for the outcome of this power shift, the source predicted a period of uncertainty as the political forces within the camp determine where the true power lies.
The latest conflict was finally resolved Wednesday after a series of meetings between representatives of various factions.
Ali Sheikh Ammar, the secretary-general of Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, hosted a lengthy session in Sidon, bringing together Palestinian and Islamist forces.
Hamas delegates submitted a blueprint for resolving the standoff, and a copy of the plan was relayed to Esbat al-Ansar, which approved it.
During the hours before the final agreement was reached, several meetings took place between Abed Maqdah, who is in charge of the Popular Committees within the camp, Sheikh Jamal Khattab, the spiritual leader of the Islamists within the camp, and Mounir Maqdah, a senior Fatah commander in Ain al-Hilweh.
At 9pm, all of the forces, secular and Islamist, including Fatah and the Palestinian Armed Struggle (Al-Kifah al-Musallah), met at Mounir Maqdah’s home where a statement was read to them for approval.
The statement called for banning people from carrying arms except for the camp’s protection, settling the issue of the Dinnieh gunmen based on ensuring the camp’s safety, and retaining good relations with the Lebanese authorities.
An informed source within the camp said Esbat al-Ansar immediately informed the Dinnieh group of the decision.
The Dinnieh group’s armed members were pulled off the streets and placed under observation by Esbat al-Ansar, the source said, while the Fatah Movement did the same. Members of the Dinnieh group were placed under near house arrest, allowed to leave their homes only for the mosque, at prayer times.
The Dinnieh outlaws were banned from talking to press and carrying arms in the streets.
As part of the agreement, the camp’s Islamist forces have pledged to ensure the Dinnieh gunmen leave the camp as soon as possible, with four individuals expected to go first Ahmed Mikati (also known as Abu Bakr), Saadeddine Sis, Ghandi Sahmarani and Ali Abdo.
Meanwhile, life in Ain al-Hilweh returned to normal following Wednesday’s hectic negotiations, with only Armed Struggle members allowed to circulate on the streets.
Members of Esbat al-Ansar remained in their strongholds, as cars began to move freely in the camp, while some Dinnieh fugitives were seen on the balconies of their homes, having changed into civilian clothes.
Khaled Aref, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s head official in the Sidon area, held a news conference Thursday to declare that members of the Dinnieh group should leave the camp “within a limited period of time, as they see fit.” He did not specify the deadline for the Dinnieh gunmen to leave the camp, but said “the period has been agreed upon, and it is known.”
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