 Stepping outside his protective "security island" for the first time, Fatah's general supervisor in Lebanon, Colonel Mounir Maqdah, left Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp for a visit to Damascus Thursday. Security reports revealed that during his visit Maqdah will meet with Syrian and Palestinian officials, leading Palestinian sources in Lebanon's largest refugee camp to view the visit as a "coronation of the improvement of Palestinian-Syrian relations."
| Just at the moment when Syria's relations with everyone else, to include their pet dogs, is going south. Talk about never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity... |
Maqdah was accompanied by Palestinian official Jamal Suleiman, a figure Damascus frequently turns to in times of crisis in Palestinian affairs.
| That'd be two or three times a week... |
According to sources, discussions between the two parties will touch on how to face mounting American and international pressure on Palestinians here, applied through United Nations Resolution 1559, which stipulates the disarmament of all armed forces in Lebanon, including "security islands," a term used to describe the country's Palestinian refugee camps.
| The ghost of Max Weber has been scratching his head ever since they came up with an idea as dumb as "security islands." |
Sources said that pressure was the basis for such a coordination, adding that Palestinian forces are unanimous in their desire to avoid any internal strife that could draw international attention and lead to the disarmament of Palestinian forces. According to Palestinian forces, the call for Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon is a prelude to lifting the political and security immunity of the camps.
| Weber's ghost is looking up hopefully. Anna Comnena is snickering... |
The sources said they feared that security would become unstable in Ein el-Hilweh once Syrian forces pull out and that the camps would be depicted as a haven for outlaws, thus allowing the U.S. and international powers to open the "Fatah file."
| "Security would become unstable" in Ein el-Hellhole? What the hell has it been to this point? |
Maqdah is the second-most wanted Palestinian official by Lebanese authorities to visit Syria, after Brigadier Sultan Abul-Aynayn, who also visited Damascus a few weeks ago.
| It looks like the Syrians' only allies are the Medes, the Persians, and the Philistines... |
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