BEIRUT – In Ein el-Hilweh, as in the other Palestinian camps in Lebanon, Fatah is in a weakened position against an ascendant Islamist coalition. This was evident in the assassination attempt against Abdullah Shreidi. Given the influence of each of the Palestinian forces on the Lebanese stage, the attempt was bound to provoke an explosion of violence which would undermine Fatah. The outcome was a show of Palestinian heavy arms and powerlessness on the part of the Lebanese army to restrain the fedayins. It offered the army another opportunity to underline the need for Hezbollah's armed presence in southern Lebanon.
Interesting commentary, synopsis only posted to EFL.
| Interesting, and in line with what we were talking about Saturday. On the other hand, I don't see Hezbollah storming into Ein el-Hellhole and establishing any kind of order. As far as I can see, they're just as scared of the nutjobs as the Lebanese army is. I think it has something to do with the proximity to Israel, by the way, since the Shreidi bunch is the remnants of the Dinnieh Takfir wal-Hijrah bunch that the Lebanese army broke up a couple years ago — but that was in northern Lebanon... |
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