Lebanon’s Palestinian factions celebrated over the weekend the Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas as officials and residents of Ain al-Hilweh underscored the importance of this opportunity to boost the resistance to Israeli occupation.
At the southern entrance to the country’s biggest refugee camp, Hamas and Fatah flags were spotted elevated side by side atop of a tent where Palestinian nationalist anthems were played to mark unity among the Palestinian people and enmity to Israel.
Palestinian officials were unanimous in describing the Egyptian popular uprising that ousted President Husni Mubarak as the cornerstone of the inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
However, some skeptics continued to doubt the reconciliation’s durability.
“In the past, reconciliations and agreements took place [in] Mecca but the concerned parties failed to uphold their commitment. Is Cairo more sacred than Mecca?” asked Abu Ali, a grocery merchant.
Abu Ali was referring to a similar display of unity in February 2007 when the same Palestinian leaders signed a unity agreement in Mecca, under the sponsorship of Saudi Arabia’s monarchy.
Walaa Youssef, a secondary school student among thousands of others who reside in the crowded camp of Ain al-Hilweh, home to more than 60,000 refugees, told The Daily Star that Palestinian young people were joyful to see the Palestinian internal scene united.
“We as Palestinian refugees see ourselves again dreaming of returning to Palestine,” she said.
Saber Khatib, a Fatah supporter, said the Arab nation was walking down the road to freedom and unity as Fatah and Hamas taking a similar path.
“I was with Fatah and today I am with Fatah and Hamas,” he said.
A supporter of Hamas, Abu Khaled, described the reconciliation as a sign of strength by Hamas, not a weakness.
“President Abu Mazen ended his isolation and found in Hamas a loyal partner to shore up the Palestinian domestic political scene,” Abu Khaled said.
Hamas official Abu Ahmad Fadel said the reconciliation should be followed with restoring trust among the popular base of both movements.
“There is no doubt that people are ready and we should not forget that Arab revolutions encouraged our people to unite … on all levels to preserve our national Palestinian project and that of the resistance to liberate Palestine,” Fadel said.
Fadel said current regional circumstances in the Arab world, particularly recent developments in Egypt, were in favor of the reconciliation, in contrast to the past.
Maher Shbayteh, a senior Fatah official in Ain al-Hilweh, said dialogue among Palestinian factions in the camp continued in the past despite tensions between the two leaderships, and was crowned currently with the reconciliation between the two leaderships.
“The time when Israel used to benefit from [inter-Palestinian] disputes is over, and our unity means strength, which Israel fears,” Shbatyeh said.
Echoing Shbatyeh, a member of the Democratic Front to Liberate Palestine, Fouad Uthman, said unity among Palestinians was itself a weapon against Israel.
“There will be a ‘bomb’ against Israel as thousands of Palestinians will stand on the Lebanese-Palestinian border,” Shbatyeh said.
On May 15, Lebanese and Palestinian organizations will organize a march to the Israeli-Lebanese border to mark the Nakba, when Palestinians were displaced from their land in 1948, and stress their right of return.
An official from Saiqa, a pro-Syrian Palestinian faction, Abed Maqdah, stood in front of a poster of President Hafez Assad and his son, Bashar, also praised the Cairo agreement.
Maqdah said he hoped the reconciliation would set down the foundations of unity among Palestinian factions under the umbrella of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
He added that Saiqa was supportive of Syrian and Egyptian efforts that led to the reconciliation in a bid to confront Israel.
However, some Palestinian refugees were non-concerned with the reconciliation like Hussam, a vendor selling faux jewelry, who said he “had no time for politics.”
“Reconciliation is nice but selling jewelery is nicer,” he said.
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