Ain al-Hilweh
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Ain al-Hilweh (variously, Ayn al-Hilweh, Ein al-Hilweh, etc.; the literal meaning is "eye of beauty") (Arabic: عين الحلوة) is the largest Palestinians refugee camp in Lebanon with over 70,000 refugees, located on the outskirts of the port of Sidon.[1] Due to the fact that Lebanese forces are not allowed to enter the camp Ain al-Hilweh has been called a "zone of unlaw" by the Lebanese media.[2] Many people wanted by the Lebanese government are believed to have taken refuge in the camp as a result of the lack of Lebanese authority.[3]
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[edit] In the 1982 fighting
During the First Lebanon War (1982), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) landed north of Sidon and the city was subjected to a heavy aerial bombing, causing heavy casualties among the civilian population. There was prolonged fighting in Ein el-Hilweh, culminating with the Palestinian defenders making a last stand at a mosque which was thereupon blown up by the IDF. Israeli historian Gil'ad Be'eri gives the following account
(...) The Refugee camps were heavily fortified, full of bunkers and fire positions. The Palestinian defence at Ein El Hilweh and other refugee camps was based on hand-carried anti-tank weapons such as the RPG (Rocket propelled grenade). (...) The IDF was not prepared for this kind of fighting, having at hand mainly armoured forces intended for use in open areas. The built-up area inhibited long-range weapons, created an equality between the tank and the RPG (often wielded by 13- or 14-year old boys), and increased the number of Israeli casualties. (...) Palestinian resistance seriously disrupted the timetable of the planned rapid advance to Beirut. It took eight days before the final crushing of resistance in Ein El Hilweh. The method adopted by the army was to use loud-speakers to call upon the civilian population to move away, search the houses one by one, surround points of remaining active resistance and subdue them by overwhelming fire.[4]
[edit] Fatah take over of 1990
In the 1980s most Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon were dominated by Syrian-backed Palestinian groups. In the late 1980s members of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, after a being ousted in other refugee camps moved on to Ain al-Hilweh. After fighting a bloody three day conflict with the Abu Nidal Organization Fatah members were able to establish dominance in Ain al-Hilweh.[5] However by 1993 another group led by Fatah's top military commander in the camp, Col. Mounir Maqdah known as the Black September 13 Brigade, with support from Hezbolla and Iran, gained dominance over mainstream Fatah members in the camp.[6] Maqdahhad's dominance was shortlived as he rejoined Fatah in 1998 after the Palestinian Authority began funding the camp again.[7] A Lebanese court convicted the leader of Fatah in Lebanon, Sultan Abu al-Aynayn, of "forming an armed gang" and sentenced him in absentia to death.[8]
[edit] 2003 Fatah and Osbat al-Nour conflict
In may of 2003 fighting broke out between members of Osbat al-Nour and Fatah militia members in Ain al-Hilweh after the near-fatal shooting of Osbat al-Nour leader Abdullah Shraidi on May 17[9], in which one of Abdullah's bodyguards and a bystander were killed. The shooting occurred while returning from the funeral of a Fatah member and family relative, Ibrahim Shraidi who was gunned down by an unknown assailant.[10] Roughly 200 Osbat al-Nour fundamentalist fighters attacked Fatah offices. Eight people were killed and 25 wounded in the fighting at Ain al-Hilweh. Schools in the Ain al-Hilweh camp were shut and most stores kept their shutters down at the height of the fighting, which provoked an exodus by hundreds of camp residents. [11] Two months after the ambush Abdullah Shraidi died from wounds received during the attack.[12] Fatah agreed to a ceasefire after failing to defeat the fundamentalists in the camp.[13]
[edit] 2005 arrests
In July of 2005 four members of the Islamic Liberation Party were arrested. The Lebanese authorities claimed that the group had conections with Syria and that the group has participated in terrorist attacks in various arab countries. Palestinian sources described the moves as a step toward the disarmament of their factions, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559.[14]
The Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali lived in Ein el-Hilweh with his family after the Nakba.
[edit] See also
- Nabatieh camp, destroyed between the years 1982-1991. Most of the population was moved to Ein el-Helweh.
- List of Palestinian refugee camps
- Naji al-Ali
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ גלעד בארי, מלחמת לבנון - נגד פלסטין הקטנה Gil'ad Be'eri, "The Lebanon War" - "Confronting "Little Palestine" in Lebanon" at [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9]
- ^ [10]
- ^ [11]
- ^ [12]
- ^ [13]
- ^ [14]
[edit] External links and references
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