Lebanon: Palestinian Investigations into Ain al-Hilweh Clashes Conclude

A member of the "Fatah" movement in Ain al-Hilweh camp during the clashes last July (AP)
A member of the "Fatah" movement in Ain al-Hilweh camp during the clashes last July (AP)
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Lebanon: Palestinian Investigations into Ain al-Hilweh Clashes Conclude

A member of the "Fatah" movement in Ain al-Hilweh camp during the clashes last July (AP)
A member of the "Fatah" movement in Ain al-Hilweh camp during the clashes last July (AP)

A committee that was formed at the beginning of August to investigate the recent armed incidents in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp has completed its work and submitted its report to the competent authorities.

The committee was in charge of investigating the assassination of the Palestinian National Security Commander, Major General Mohammad al-Armoushi (Abu Ashraf) and his companions, during the clashes in Ain al-Hilweh camp, in addition to the killing of Abdell-Rahman Farhood, who was known for his affiliation with extremists.

The report was submitted to the Joint Palestinian Action Committee in Lebanon, which convened on Tuesday at the Palestinian Embassy in Beirut, in the presence of representatives of the Lebanese Army Command, the Amal Movement and other forces.

An official statement issued at the end of the meeting said that an agreement was reached on the follow-up mechanisms, which would begin with handing over the suspects to the Lebanese judiciary.

Ghassan Ayoub, a member of the Palestinian Joint Action Committee in Lebanon, said that the report included the names of the perpetrators, adding that the participants agreed to support efforts to hand them over to the competent judiciary.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ayoub explained that a deadline has been given to the forces concerned with communicating with extremist groups to persuade them to hand over the suspects.

In parallel, an explosion was heard inside the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, located in southern Lebanon, at dawn on Wednesday, caused by a hand grenade, according to the National News Agency (NNA).

While no injuries were reported, Fatah sources inside the camp told Asharq Al-Awsat that the bomb was thrown by the extremists, “with the aim of creating tension, as they feel that they are in an impasse, and that no one is ready to provide them with political cover.”

Ain al-Hilweh witnessed six days of violent fighting between the Fatah movement and extremist Islamist groups. The round of fighting resulted in 12 deaths and more than 65 wounded. Hundreds of families have escaped the camp, while many residents still fear the renewal of clashes at any moment.



Trump’s Middle East Envoy Meets Netanyahu on Saturday amid Ceasefire Push

 President-elect Donald Trump listens as Steve Witkoff speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Steve Witkoff speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
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Trump’s Middle East Envoy Meets Netanyahu on Saturday amid Ceasefire Push

 President-elect Donald Trump listens as Steve Witkoff speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Steve Witkoff speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)

US President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday amid a push to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu's office said.

After the meeting, Netanyahu dispatched a high-level delegation which included the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency to Qatar in order to "advance" talks to return hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official said some progress had been made in the indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to reach a deal in Gaza.

The mediators are making renewed efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining Israeli hostages held there before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. A deal would also involve the release of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Families of Israeli hostages welcomed Netanyahu's decision to dispatch the officials, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters describing it as a "historic opportunity."

Witkoff arrived in Doha on Friday and met the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators received reassurances from Witkoff that the US would continue to work towards a fair deal to end the war soon, Egyptian security sources said, though he did not give any details.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with most of its population displaced.

On Saturday, the Palestinian civil emergency service said eight people were killed, including two women and two children, in an Israeli airstrike on a former school sheltering displaced families in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said the strike had targeted Hamas fighters who were operating at the school and that it had taken measures to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.

Later on Saturday, the Gaza Civil Emergency Service said five people were killed and several others were wounded in two Israeli strikes. One of the two strikes killed three people in a house near the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas fighter "in that area" at that approximate time.