Ain el-Hilweh Residents: Fed up with Tension and Death

Armed men walk in the streets of Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Lebanon's southern port city of Sidon following clashes on August 22, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mahmoud Zayyat)
Armed men walk in the streets of Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Lebanon's southern port city of Sidon following clashes on August 22, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mahmoud Zayyat)
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Ain el-Hilweh Residents: Fed up with Tension and Death

Armed men walk in the streets of Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Lebanon's southern port city of Sidon following clashes on August 22, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mahmoud Zayyat)
Armed men walk in the streets of Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Lebanon's southern port city of Sidon following clashes on August 22, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mahmoud Zayyat)

Cautious calm prevailed on Friday in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon although a second round of fighting might erupt any minute if efforts to hand over wanted extremists to the Lebanese sate failed.

On Thursday, clashes erupted in the camp when militants from the wanted Bilal Abu Arqoub group opened fire at members of the Joint Palestinian Force.

Exchanged shooting then escalated into rocket attacks, tossing bombs and sniping operations that resulted in the death of Obeida, the son of Bilal Abu Arqoub, and the injury of eight others.

But, next to the fighting stand residents who are sick of the presence of extremists and the security tension constantly witnessed in the camp in the past couple of months.

“We are against the presence of extremists in the camp, and we also refuse their fanatic ideas,” one resident from Ain el-Hilweh told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.

But, residents are neither concerned nor scared of another battle inside the camp.

“We got used to the sporadic clashes that erupt from time to time. This sentiment is shared among all residents who continuously struggle to have a normal life. We are sick of tension and death,” a taxi driver, who crosses daily from Ain al-Hilweh to the city of Sidon, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The issue of the wanted extremists hiding in Ain al-Hilweh reemerged following the Arsal deal reached lately between “Hezbollah” and al-Nusra Front which secured the deportation of members of the militant group to northern Syria.

Observers believe that a similar deal could resolve the problem of the militants who have taken refuge in Ain al-Hilweh after the Lebanese state extends its authority in the Juroud, the barren mountainous border area between Lebanon and Syria.

The Lebanese army’s battle against the militant enclave in the Jouroud was launched early Saturday.



Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

Lebanon's new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country's financial default and public debt, according to a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.

The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who took office as part of a new government agreed earlier this month, told Reuters an IMF mission is expected to visit Lebanon in March.

Jaber said he had met the IMF's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, and confirmed that the government plans to move ahead with reforms.

Lebanon's political landscape has been turned on its head since the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummelled in last year's war with Israel.

Reflecting the shift in the power balance, the government policy statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead "we want a state that has the decision of war and peace".

The statement said it was required to adopt a national security strategy and a foreign policy that works to 'neutralize' Lebanon from conflicts.

In the field of energy, the Lebanese government will seek to resume work in oil and gas exploration, according to the cabinet statement. It said the government planned to establish a Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With a new administration in neighboring Syria, the statement said the Lebanese government believed it has an opportunity to start a serious dialogue aimed at controlling and demarcating the borders and working to resolve the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.