The Lebanese army has entered the Arab refugee slums for the first time in the raging battles with Islamist groups in southern Lebanon.
Fearing a challenge to their influence within the camps – as well as to the status quo governing relations with the Lebanese government, six terror groups based in the Palestinian Authority have formed a joint committee to negotiate with the Lebanese government on behalf of the Arab camps.
The six groups are the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and two factions of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). They have deployed armed men loyal to the respective factions in an attempt to demonstrate control of the situation and further erosion of the situation in the town.
Fourteen towns in Lebanon were established during Israel’s War of Independence by the many Arabs who left Israel. Lebanon has since refused to grant them or their children citizenship, forcing them to remain in delineated built-up areas which international media usually refer to as “refugee camps.”
A 1969 deal with the terror groups dominant there established that residents could maintain arms within their communities, which the Lebanese army would not enter. This made the camps perfect settings for Islamist groups in the region to recruit and train for attacks against Israel, Iraq and elsewhere.
A recent attack on off-duty Lebanese soldiers sparked a standoff with the Fatah al-Islam groups, which conflicting reports claim is tied to Al-Qaeda or Syrian intelligence. The Lebanese Army surrounded Naher el Bared, south of Tripoli, and demanded the surrender of members of Fatah al-Islam - who refused. (Click here for an article on the start of the flighting)
The Lebanese army entered the town this week. Those troops bombarded and continue to strike Fatah al-Islam targets and sent ground troops in with air cover during the night. Reuters quoted an unnamed local PFLP leader, who claimed that 700 homes have been destroyed.
The clashes then spread to Ain al-Hilwa as well – perhaps best known to the Western world for the footage filmed there of Arab celebrations of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US targets. A group called Jund al-Sham, purportedly associated with Fatah al-Islam, claimed responsibility for the clashes there. A forty-member force of local Fatah and Islamic terrorists has now been activated there to try to subdue Jund al-Sham without the Lebanese army entering.
Reportedly, 27,000 the 40,000 residents of Naher al-Bared have fled. The UN launched an appeal for $12.7 million to help the refugees of the Jihadist fighting. The US pledged $3.5 million in addition to the weapons shipments it has been providing the Lebanese army.
Lebanon demands that the 50 terrorists behind the beheading of Lebanese soldiers be arrested and placed on trial before a military tribunal – to face the death penalty. Fatah al-Islam men who fought the army in subsequent clashes would also be tried, but would be deported to their countries of origin to serve their sentences.
Fatah al-Islam local chief Shibab al-Kadur said the group had implemented Hizbullah's methods of fighting the IDF and using them against the US-backed Lebanese army. "We are prepared for a battle that will last two years or more," he told London-based Al Hayat Arabic newspaper. "We are ready to blow up Beirut and every other place in Lebanon."
At least 114 people - 46 Lebanese soldiers and 38 terrorists - have been killed since fighting began on May 20.
Fatah al-Islam chief Youssef al-Absi was reportedly wounded in recent fighting – though it is uncertain how seriously. Al-Absi is wanted by Jordan, Lebanon and Syria – as well as the US, for an attack that killed an American diplomat in Jordan.
Bombings Target Christians, Druze and UN
A bus-bomb went off while the vehicle was parked in a Christian neighborhood of Bouchrieh in eastern Beirut Monday – injuring seven. A bomb in the neighborhood’s industrial zone injured five on May 26.
Two bombs, on May 21 and 22, killed one woman and injured a dozen others in two Beirut neighborhoods. On May 23 a bomb in the Druse town of Aley wounded five people.
A bomb was found in a powdered milk can at the Tyre Rest House beach resort frequented by UN troops in southern Lebanon Wednesday. The five-pound bomb failed to go off.
The motive behind the bomb-attempt may have been Fatah al-Islam accusation that the UN’s navy forces shelled Nahr al-Bared from the sea last week. The UN denied it had done so.
Army Seizes Hizbullah Missiles, Lets Terrorists Go
Hizbullah terrorists were stopped by Lebanese soldiers with a truckload of Grad rockets and ammunition for guns Tuesday.
The weapons were found at a temporary checkpoint set up near the town of Baalbek. The six Hizbullah men accompanying the shipment were not arrested, but the ammunition was confiscated.
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, in the US for bilateral strategy talks, said that Hizbullah has fully rearmed and possesses the missile-launching capabilities it had prior to the Second Lebanon War.
_______________________________________
Arutz Sheva launches Sderot Solidarity Week this Sunday, June 10th
Solidarity Bus Trip departs from Jerusalem's Binyanei HaUma Sunday at 8:30am
Sign Up for Trip!
Also on Sunday 12-hour Arutz Sheva Radio broadcast and telethon from Sderot.
Fearing a challenge to their influence within the camps – as well as to the status quo governing relations with the Lebanese government, six terror groups based in the Palestinian Authority have formed a joint committee to negotiate with the Lebanese government on behalf of the Arab camps.
The six groups are the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and two factions of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). They have deployed armed men loyal to the respective factions in an attempt to demonstrate control of the situation and further erosion of the situation in the town.
Fourteen towns in Lebanon were established during Israel’s War of Independence by the many Arabs who left Israel. Lebanon has since refused to grant them or their children citizenship, forcing them to remain in delineated built-up areas which international media usually refer to as “refugee camps.”
A 1969 deal with the terror groups dominant there established that residents could maintain arms within their communities, which the Lebanese army would not enter. This made the camps perfect settings for Islamist groups in the region to recruit and train for attacks against Israel, Iraq and elsewhere.
A recent attack on off-duty Lebanese soldiers sparked a standoff with the Fatah al-Islam groups, which conflicting reports claim is tied to Al-Qaeda or Syrian intelligence. The Lebanese Army surrounded Naher el Bared, south of Tripoli, and demanded the surrender of members of Fatah al-Islam - who refused. (Click here for an article on the start of the flighting)
The Lebanese army entered the town this week. Those troops bombarded and continue to strike Fatah al-Islam targets and sent ground troops in with air cover during the night. Reuters quoted an unnamed local PFLP leader, who claimed that 700 homes have been destroyed.
The clashes then spread to Ain al-Hilwa as well – perhaps best known to the Western world for the footage filmed there of Arab celebrations of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US targets. A group called Jund al-Sham, purportedly associated with Fatah al-Islam, claimed responsibility for the clashes there. A forty-member force of local Fatah and Islamic terrorists has now been activated there to try to subdue Jund al-Sham without the Lebanese army entering.
Reportedly, 27,000 the 40,000 residents of Naher al-Bared have fled. The UN launched an appeal for $12.7 million to help the refugees of the Jihadist fighting. The US pledged $3.5 million in addition to the weapons shipments it has been providing the Lebanese army.
Lebanon demands that the 50 terrorists behind the beheading of Lebanese soldiers be arrested and placed on trial before a military tribunal – to face the death penalty. Fatah al-Islam men who fought the army in subsequent clashes would also be tried, but would be deported to their countries of origin to serve their sentences.
Fatah al-Islam local chief Shibab al-Kadur said the group had implemented Hizbullah's methods of fighting the IDF and using them against the US-backed Lebanese army. "We are prepared for a battle that will last two years or more," he told London-based Al Hayat Arabic newspaper. "We are ready to blow up Beirut and every other place in Lebanon."
At least 114 people - 46 Lebanese soldiers and 38 terrorists - have been killed since fighting began on May 20.
Fatah al-Islam chief Youssef al-Absi was reportedly wounded in recent fighting – though it is uncertain how seriously. Al-Absi is wanted by Jordan, Lebanon and Syria – as well as the US, for an attack that killed an American diplomat in Jordan.
Bombings Target Christians, Druze and UN
A bus-bomb went off while the vehicle was parked in a Christian neighborhood of Bouchrieh in eastern Beirut Monday – injuring seven. A bomb in the neighborhood’s industrial zone injured five on May 26.
Two bombs, on May 21 and 22, killed one woman and injured a dozen others in two Beirut neighborhoods. On May 23 a bomb in the Druse town of Aley wounded five people.
A bomb was found in a powdered milk can at the Tyre Rest House beach resort frequented by UN troops in southern Lebanon Wednesday. The five-pound bomb failed to go off.
The motive behind the bomb-attempt may have been Fatah al-Islam accusation that the UN’s navy forces shelled Nahr al-Bared from the sea last week. The UN denied it had done so.
Army Seizes Hizbullah Missiles, Lets Terrorists Go
Hizbullah terrorists were stopped by Lebanese soldiers with a truckload of Grad rockets and ammunition for guns Tuesday.
The weapons were found at a temporary checkpoint set up near the town of Baalbek. The six Hizbullah men accompanying the shipment were not arrested, but the ammunition was confiscated.
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, in the US for bilateral strategy talks, said that Hizbullah has fully rearmed and possesses the missile-launching capabilities it had prior to the Second Lebanon War.
_______________________________________
Arutz Sheva launches Sderot Solidarity Week this Sunday, June 10th
Solidarity Bus Trip departs from Jerusalem's Binyanei HaUma Sunday at 8:30am
Sign Up for Trip!
Also on Sunday 12-hour Arutz Sheva Radio broadcast and telethon from Sderot.