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Lebanese public getting fed up with Palestinian bases

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, February 3, 2006

For the first time, the Lebanese government has come under grass-roots pressure to dismantle Palestinian military bases.

Lebanese residents and municipal councils have demanded the elimination of Palestinian military bases. They have complained of intimidation and shootings by pro-Syrian Palestinian fighters.

"We ask the Cabinet to implement the decision it has made to remove this military base, which represents a source of tension and unrest in the region," the Naameh and Haret Naameh municipal council said in a statement on Jan. 17, according to Middle East Newsline.

The Syrian-sponsored Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command maintains a base in Naameh, located on the outskirts of Beirut. In January, PFLP-GC operatives shot and injured two municipal workers outside the military facility.

Palestinian fighters have also attacked Lebanese Army bases. Over the last month, military bases outside Beirut and Sidon were the targets of shootings and bombings in attacks attributed to Palestinian groups and the Al Qaida-aligned Usbat Al Ansar.

On Thursday, a soldier was injured when a bomb exploded near a Lebanese Army barracks in Beirut. An anonymous telephone caller warned of additional attacks unless 13 Al Qaida operatives were released from Lebanese custody.

The government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has approved a commission to examine the future of Palestinian military bases. Officials said the panel would include the Palestinian Authority.

"What are the reasons behind the presence of weapons outside the camps and their use against those who have always stood by the Palestinian cause?" Lebanese parliamentarian Azzam Dandashi asked.

Ein Hilwe has been the source of most of the Palestinian gun battles. Since November 2005, fighters from the Palestinian-origin Jund A-Sham insurgency group have repeatedly clashed with Lebanese residents.

The army has increased security measures outside Ein Hilwe. Passengers and cargo have been examined as the army searched for suspects in attacks on nearby military facilities.

"According to Prime Minister Siniora, measures will be taken by the government to implement security and stability in the area," Lebanese parliamentarian Mohammed Hajar said. "Discussions will also be held with the concerned parties to remove the military base in the area and all the military bases outside the camps."


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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