CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 18

PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS IN LEBANON: GOVERNANCE AND VIOLENCE
The Islamists in Ayn al-Hilweh do not have a military agenda in
Lebanon. Instead, a lot of Palestinian refugees in mid-2009 found that they
were staying operational, waiting for the day to fight for Palestine. A leader
of Usbat al-Ansar argued that the Ayn al-Hilweh camp was being targeted
by the media and Lebanese politicians in order to destabilize Lebanon and
create sectarian tensions (Sunni-Shia). A leader of the Islamic Jihadist
Movement claimed, “The objective of some Lebanese authorities is to make
Ayn al-Hilweh become like Nahr al-Bared in order to destroy it”. However,
Islamist actors recognize the specificity of Ayn al-Hilweh, arguing that
unlike the other camps, “the presence of Islamists in Ayn al-Hilweh is an
integral part of camp life. We have been here since the 1970s. We are not
foreigners. Our main objective is to help people to abide by Islamic values.
Historically, our social environment is plagued by alcoholism, delinquency
and drugs”. 56
The Islamist Party of Liberation (Hizb al-Tahrir) is also active in the
Ayn al-Hilweh camp. A party member in the camp stated, “Since its
establishment, Hizb al-Tahrir has denounced any participation in the
political system, such as joining committees or other elected councils. Hizb
al-Tahrir thus does not have any political agenda in Lebanon. We are a party
that preaches the good of Islam and is interested in a social agenda. We do
not have even light arms in Lebanon”. 57
On behalf of Islamic Jihad, which is a nationalist Islamist group, the
group’s leader in Ayn al-Hilweh declared, “Yes, we are supported by Iran
but we have an independent position. Our agenda is exclusively Palestine.
We don’t even wish to operate from Lebanon. We are here to support our
brothers in Palestine. We only have light individual arms here”. 58
Despite the fragmentation of the Islamic scene in Ayn al-Hilweh,
there is one figure who is very influential and respected by the majority of
the camp residents and political factions. He is Sheikh Jamal Khattab, the
leader of the Islamic Jihadist Movement and imam of the camp’s al-Noor
Mosque. For the past twenty years, he has intervened in all sorts of family,
neighborhood and social problems. During his interviews about the security
of the camp, Sheikh Khattab declared, “We cannot afford to threaten the
security of the camp or its residents in order to protect one or more people.
Safety of the camp is the most important consideration”. He was aware that
some Lebanese authorities wanted to use Ayn al-Hilweh as a stronghold
against Hizballah and emphasised the good relationship with this party by
stating, “We have held several meetings with Hizballah and we supported
56
Are Knudsen and Michael Kerr, eds, Lebanon after the Cedar revolution, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2015), 118.
57
Rosemary Sayigh, “A House is Not a Home: Permanent Impermanence of Habitat for
Palestinian Expellees in Lebanon”, Holy Land Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, (2005):
17–39.
58
Meltem İnce Yenilmez, The Impact of Forced Migration in the Middle East: Syrian and
Palestinian Refugees, PERCEPTIONS, Vol. XXII, No 4,(2017):183-201.
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