The head of Hezbollah yesterday called for a halt to days of deadly clashes that have raged between rival factions in the Palestinian camp of Ain Al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, Reuters reports.
At least 11 people have been killed in the camp since fighting broke out on Saturday between Fatah and other Palestinian factions, security sources in the camp told Reuters.
“This fighting must not continue because its repercussions are bad – for the camp’s residents, for the dear Palestinian people … for the south, for all of Lebanon,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address.
READ: Despite truce, violent clashes resume in Palestine refugee camp in Lebanon
The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said at least 2,000 people have fled their homes in the camp and UNRWA activities were suspended due to the violence.
Negotiations between the rival factions have led to brief suspensions of fighting but have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire, with heavy clashes resuming on Tuesday.
Hezbollah, which controls southern Lebanon, has ties to Palestinian factions and supports their cause.
Nasrallah said anyone who could “pressure, say a word, make contact, make an effort” to secure a truce should do so.
UNRWA estimates that up to 250,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian camps, which date back to the 1948 creation of the state of Israel on Palestinian land. The camps mainly lie outside the jurisdiction of Lebanese security services.
Nasrallah also ramped up his rhetoric on Tuesday against those burning copies of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, in Denmark and Sweden in recent weeks, saying the weak response from Muslim states had left believers wanting.
“There is no longer any meaning to waiting for anyone. You must take up this responsibility and punish these damned people with the strongest punishment,” Nasrallah said.