Democratic Palestine : 12 (ص 18)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 12 (ص 18)
- المحتوى
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War of Attrition on Beirut Camps
The Amal Movement has not let up
its attempts to destroy the security situa-
tion in the Palestinian camps near Bei-
rut. After instigating a near war in the
Burj al Barajneh camp in September, it
also sparked clashes in the Sabra and
Shatila camps. At exactly 1:30 pmonthe
7th of October 1985, Amal killed a Pales-
tinian in Shatila camp which inevitably
sparked off serious fighting, the intensity
of which spread also to the Sabra camp.
The Amal Movement used heavy artil-
lery: B 7 missiles, mortars (60 mm) and
heavy machineguns. Although a cease-
fire was agreed to at 3 p.m. on the same
day, Amal did not abide by it. Efforts to
stop the fighting did not cease, however,
and 6 hours later another ceasefire was
agreed to, after the camps suffered two
martyrs and 26 wounded.
_The tenseness of the atmosphere
was not diminished on the following day.
Amal militiamen prohibited anyone from
entering or leaving the camps and set up
checkpoints in Sabra and the Da’ouk
area. Homes of civilians in the Farhat
and Hoursh areas were burned.
The continuous violations of agree-
ments on the part of Amal plus their con-
stant instigation of clashes only goes to
cast doubt on how serious they are
about abiding by the Damascus agree-
ment with regard to the camp question.
Ever since the signing of the Damascus
agreement on June 17th, the Amal
Movement has continually tried to hinder
rebuilding the camps. Sparking off
clashes is one of the ways it reverts to, to
discourage rebuilding, hoping that the
Palestinians will be demoralized by the
hardships and leave the camps. This
would facilitate the defeat of the Palesti-
nian camps in a forthcoming attack
being prepared for.
In this context, the claims that Amal
makes every time it instigates a clash
are only a repetition of former ones and
an underscoring of its intentions to con-
tinue in the same trend. Amal claimed
that the massacres of Haret Hreik and
clashes in Bourj al Barajneh were iso-
lated incidents. However, it took no step
to put an end to these violations. Amal
also claimed that the fighting in Shatila
and Sabra was caused by internal
Palestinian differences despite the fact
that its role in the conflict was common
knowledge. In addition to this, Amal has
18
created a ceasefire line around the
Palestinian camps from which it continu-
ally initiates its attacks on the inhabit-
ants.
All of Amal'’s violations of the
Damascus agreement jeopardize this
agreement and threaten to increase
Lebanese and Palestinian bloodshed.
Moreover, this only goes to intensify the
crisis of the Lebanese and Palestinian
Oe ce eo
OE Se
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4
liberation movements, wasting poten-
tials which would be better used directed
against the Zionist enemy and
imperialism and Lebanese fascism as
well as the deviationist trend in the
Palestinian arena. We are justified,
therefore, in doubting the slogans raised
by many of the forces who call for the
necessity of fighting the Arafat trend,
because confrontation of this trend does
not come about by striking the Palesti-
nian forces who oppose it. e@
Shatila camp after an Amal attack in early October
Who Will «Clean» West Beirut?
After the fighting ended in Tripoli,
North Lebanon, news began to circulate
about a forthcoming military campaign in
West Beirut, its southern quarters and
the adjacent Palestinian refugee camps.
According to the right-wing Beirut daily
Al Nahar on October 19th, the purpose
of this campaign is «cleaning West Bei-
rut of the chaos of arms and fighters and
establishing the basis for a stable sec-
urity situation... This task will be carried
out by the fighters of the National Unity
Front, according to a studied military
plan. This is the front which was formed
from most of the Lebanese left-wing and
nationalist parties and the Amal Move-
ment under the guardianship of Syria.»
Al Nahar emphasized that according to
well-informed political sources, this cam-
paign will certainly include the Pales-
tinian camps and might be carried out by
«some Palestinian and Lebanese forces
if the situation so requires.» The article
goes on to say: «In any case, the plans
for this campaign have already been
approved whether they are to be
implemented now or in the future.»
On the timing of the «clean-up cam-
paign», the newspaper said: «In addition
to the rumors spreading, the information
circulating indicates that the coming
days will witness the beginning of this
campaign.» Another question is raised
dealing with the timing of the entry of the
Syrian army into the areas which are to
be «cleaned»: «Will the Syrian army
enter after the campaign has been com-
pleted or shortly before?» On the goal
and place of entry of the Syrian forces, A/
Nahar of October 20th, quotes a
member of the tripartite meetings bet-
ween the Lebanese Forces, Amal Move-
ment, and the Progressive Socialist
Party as saying, «Itis limited to the areas
whose complicated security situation
requires (such entry)...» The aim of this
entry is to gather arms from the Palesti-
nians because «collecting (arms) from - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 12
- تاريخ
- نوفمبر ١٩٨٥
- المنشئ
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
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