The capture of Abdel Rahman Awad, the elusive Fatah al-Islam fugitive, is being delayed due to the delicate politics that govern life in the sprawling Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp where he is thought to be hiding, Palestinian sources have told The Daily Star. Lebanese authorities have issued a warrant for Awad's arrest for his alleged involvement in a series of deadly bombings which targeted the army in Tripoli over the summer. The militant, who is known as the "Prince of Al-Qaeda" for his ties to international Islamist networks, has also been linked to a suicide bombing in Damascus in September.
Security forces have asked their Palestinian counterparts, who are responsible for law and order in the camp, to capture Awad as quickly as possible, but despite promises that action will be taken no substantial progress in bringing him to justice appears to have been made.
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) held a meeting with senior Palestinian figures last week in which the military accused the militant of holding the inhabitants of the camp "hostage." But Awad has supporters inside the camp, where there is talk of a fatwa (religious edict) binding Islamist groups to protecting him. But the imam of Al-Quds Mosque in Sidon, Sheikh Maher Hammoud, has issued a fatwa of his own calling for Awad's surrender.
A senior Palestinian source told The Daily Star that while the major political parties in the camp were in agreement that Awad should be handed over as soon as possible, the opposition of armed splinter groups has made such a decision politically sensitive. "There is so much politics among the parties involved," the source said. "Otherwise, why would we have this delay?"
Secular Fatah officials in the camp are said to fear a collapse in support if they hand over Awad, a Palestinian, to Lebanese security forces and are trying to build cross-party support for his arrest with religious parties rather than risking instability by acting unilaterally.
The source said this approach meant that the prospect of serious unrest in the camp over Awad's potential arrest was unlikely. "All the major parties in the camp are in favor of his capture or surrender," the source said. "There are a few Islamist splinter groups who disagree, but I don't think they will dare to stand in the face of the main parties."