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| Ain al-Hilweh talks aim to restore order | ||
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| Mohammed Zaatari Daily Star correspondent Officials from various Palestinian factions held talks at the Ain al-Hilweh on Sunday to discuss measures aimed at pacifying the largest refugee camp in the country. Billed as the First Palestinian Popular Meeting in the camp east of Sidon, the event was organized by the Palestinian Follow-Up Committee, which usually mediates cease-fires between warring groups. “Security in Ain al-Hilweh is a read line that no one is allowed to trespass,” the meeting’s participants said in a joint statement. The statement also called for “sustaining Palestinian national unity, the right of return for the refugees to Palestine and the rejection of their permanent settlement outside their homeland.” The camp, which is home to some 70,000 refugees, has been the site of repeated deadly clashes and bombings among Palestinian factions, especially those supporting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and those opposed to his peace overtures toward Israel. The meeting was attended by representatives of Arafat’s Fatah movement, an alliance of Islamic Palestinian movements and the Popular Committee, which runs social, educational and security affairs in the camp. The meeting came a short time after an official of the Islamic Hamas movement confirmed that Palestinian factions were still finalizing the terms of an accord to suspend attacks against Israel. “So far we have not arrived at a definitive agreement with the Palestinian factions, but the dialogue is not over and is continuing despite the differences,” Osama Hamdan told journalists in Beirut. Nabil Abu Rudeina, a top aide to Arafat, said earlier it would take another two to three days “to reach a unanimous Palestinian agreement” on a truce. Earlier reports said a cease-fire accord between Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah would be announced Sunday. Hamdan, speaking at a meeting to support the intifada, said some felt a truce did not serve to protect the Palestinian people but to advance the US-backed “road map” peace plan, “which we reject.” – With agencies |
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