Conflict Incident Report

The security situation in south Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh is once again in jeopardy after an incident over the weekend left two injured and placed the camp on alert. Activists Assef Musa and Mohammad al-Badawi were wounded when they came under fire Saturday at a protest tent near the Said Youssef Community Center, where members of the joint Palestinian security force deployed last week. The activists’ tent was also set on fire.

The community center lies between the restive Al-Tiri and Smayrieh neighborhoods. The former was the onetime stronghold of extremist Bilal Badr, while the latter was under the control of Badr’s relative, Bilal Arqoub.

One officer and six fighters were stationed in the center after the joint security force allegedly paid Badr and Arqoub money to smooth the deployment.

The activists staged the sit-in to demand compensation for damage incurred during bloody clashes that rocked the camp in April. Nearly six days of fighting led to some 10 casualties, and wreaked havoc in a number of the camp’s areas.

Although he is currently in hiding, Badr has remained a vocal critic of the joint Palestinian force and continually threatens to destabilize the camp if he is not paid a monthly salary.

Citizens have been demanding to be compensated for the damage inflicted on their properties. News had recently been circulated indicating that compensation money would soon be distributed.

Stories over what happened Saturday differed.

According to some accounts, the incident was triggered by a group affiliated with the extremists Badr and Arqoub, who attempted to provoke the joint force. This account recorded that the provocation was implemented by tossing a hand grenade toward a unit from the force.

Other narratives ranged from allegations that the attacking group had stormed the center, expelling the joint force and then shooting at those surrounding the area, to accounts that the incident was the result of a dispute that took place between a group led by Arqoub’s son, Youssef, and the joint force, which escalated into an armed shootout.

“We were 15 activists in the protest camp and we were surprised by a bunch of guys from one of the groups coming to the scene,” Musa said.

“We thought that they were heading to the joint force and so we were quick to contain the situation and prevent friction with them. When we asked them about the issue, they said they didn’t come for the joint force, rather they were asking for someone called Al-Kizmawi,” Musa said. Kizmawi, the group claimed, had insulted the extremists and they wanted to interrogate him.

Musa said that the activists informed the joint force that the group hadn’t been asking for the force, under the impression that the problem had blown over.

“Shortly afterward, we were surprised by [gun] fire raining down on us extensively and we all ran to a safe place,” Musa said.

Musa was struck by bullets in his foot and ankle.

Secretary of the popular committees for the Palestinian forces’ coalition Abed Maqdah denounced the attack, saying that it affected people’s safety.

Palestinian sources explained that recent developments have placed the secular and Islamic Palestinian factions in a tough position. The factions, the sources said, reject groups that aren’t sanctioned by the mainstream Palestinian factions, given that the factions have offered their support to the joint security force.

At the same time, the factions are being unable to fully control the situation.