Institute for Public Accuracy gathered opinions of Samar Assad, John Quigley and As’ad AbuKhalil regarding the Lebanon army’s siege on the Palestinian refugee camp, Nahr el-Bared, where the UN fears a humanitarian crisis is unfolding.
The assault began when four masked gunmen alleged to be affiliated with the militant group, Fath Al-Islam, robbed a bank in the northern town of Amioun on Saturday. As’ad AbuKhalil disputes claims that the group is sponsored by Syria.
AS’AD ABUKHALIL: “The Lebanese government is claiming that this group, Fath Al-Islam, is linked to Syria. This is false; in fact, the group is fanatically opposed to the Syrian government. The Syrian tyrannical regime, worried most about its survival, is known for its brutal wars against Islamist dissidents. …
“In Gaza, in Iraq and now in Lebanon, you have U.S. proxy governments with little legitimacy attacking civilian areas in the name of ridding the U.S. of some of its enemies — real and imagined. …
“The Hariri family has been at least since 2000 nurturing and financing Sunni fanatical groups throughout Lebanon. After the assassination of Rafiq Hariri in 2005, his son (who did not have much political experience) had to resort to the two weapons in his arsenal: 1) money; 2) narrow sectarian agitation. In the 2005 election in northern Lebanon, many of the fanatical groups that had not been allowed to operate openly in Lebanon, came out of the shadows and benefited from Saudi largess. The Lebanese media … are noting that this fanatical group, Fath Al-Islam, is not predominantly Palestinian: most of the fighters are Saudi and Lebanese. Some of the leaders were active in the Hariri political camp in Lebanon, and some were linked to the torching of Christian churches and businesses in 2006 when they (under the support of the Hariri family) demonstrated to protest Danish cartoons.”
More Information
Updated 22 May: Lebanese bloggers react to refugee camp siege