Beirut- Despite the dangers facing Lebanon in light of the expansion of the circle of Israeli aggression in the south, the Lebanese political disputes, and the presidential vacuum, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Head of the Amal Movement, Nabih Berri, is making unremitting efforts on the line of the Palestinian presence in Lebanon, with the aim of reactivating the “Joint Palestinian Action Authority,” through… Resuming its meetings after a long break.
The importance of this step is represented by the Lebanese-Palestinian consensus on the need to enhance the security and stability of the camps on the one hand, and to close ranks and strengthen national unity on the other hand, to confront any direct or indirect repercussions of the Israeli war on Gaza and the south.
The first steps of these diligent efforts were translated into a meeting between the official of the Palestinian file in the Amal Movement, Muhammad al-Jabbawi, assigned by Speaker Berri to follow up on the issue, with the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon, Ashraf Dabour, and representatives of the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, including the Fatah movement, provided that he also meets with representatives of the coalition of forces. Palestinian movements, including the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad, for the same purpose.
Challenge the Palestinian existence
The political official of the Hamas movement in Sidon, Ayman Shana, stressed the need for these efforts to focus on preserving the joint Palestinian action body, and not on the basis of seeking to fix differences between the Palestinian factions.
Shana denied that the Palestinian disputes in Lebanon were what suspended the commission’s work, but rather attributed it to the existence of problems between a Palestinian party and some other parties not directly linked to the Palestinian factions, as he put it.
The political official stressed the existence and importance of the body, and considered that changing its name would affect the role and presence of the Palestinians in Lebanon, justifying this by saying that the official authorities always stress the necessity of Palestinian unity, and that changing the name of the body may constitute a new challenge to their unity, and may affect their relationship with the Lebanese authorities.
Adnan Youssef, a member of the Political Bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also stressed to Tel Aviv Tribune Net the importance of preserving the “Palestinian reality,” considering that it needs to develop work formulas and agree on priorities, including security and social, and follow up on the file of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees “UNRWA.”
Youssef said that the Israeli threat to the Palestinian camps in Lebanon is not a new matter, and that it aims to strike the Palestinian presence, “as the camps are considered a place of struggle and steadfastness, in order to defend the right to return to the homes from which they were displaced.”
Reviving the body
Haitham Abdo, official of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon, stressed the importance of restoring the work of the body that was founded and sponsored by Speaker Berri, given its role in strengthening the security of the camps and improving the conditions of the Palestinian people, in light of the current crises, especially the economic and living conditions, and the reduction of UNRWA services.
Abdo revealed, in his speech to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, that the efforts to revive this body were represented by agreeing to form a tripartite committee, which includes representatives of the factions of the Liberation Organization, the Coalition, and the Islamic forces, and “work is underway in full swing to revive the body and resume its role on the ground.”
The official stressed that the existence of the Palestinian people today is threatened first by attempts to end the role of UNRWA, in addition to the presence of social challenges such as unemployment, poverty and the spread of pests in the camps. He stressed the necessity of forming a unified Palestinian national front that brings together all Palestinian forces to lead the stage politically and militarily.
The Joint Palestinian Action Authority in Lebanon was established in 2018, with the help of Nabih Berri, on the basis of the necessity of excluding the Lebanese arena from the repercussions of Palestinian disputes, and that the authority should form a unified political, security and social reference to follow up on the issues of the camps and their hot files, address problems, resolve differences and organize them in a way that serves the interest of Palestinian refugees. In Lebanon.
The body includes the main Palestinian national and Islamic forces and factions, including representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Alliance of Palestinian and Islamic Forces in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, and the Ansar Allah movement.
The participants in the commission signed a document considered a charter of honor, which stipulates that the Palestinian arena in Lebanon is considered exceptional, and calls for forgetting differences and staying away from internal division.
The Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization assumes the secretariat of the Palestinian Joint Action Body, and the Secretary of the Alliance of Palestinian and Islamic Forces is his deputy. Its meetings are attended exclusively by the first official of each Palestinian faction. The body meets periodically once a month, and decisions are taken within it according to the majority.
The Commission faced many challenges that negatively affected the progress of its work, as it stopped meetings on several occasions, before resuming its activity in July 2021, with new efforts from Speaker Berri.
New attempt
Palestinian writer and journalist Muhammad Dahsheh told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, who accompanied the launch of the commission, that President Berri is the godfather of the formation of the commission and is constantly following up on its work, against the backdrop of his awareness of the danger looming over the Palestinian issue, after a series of American decisions and steps, such as former US President Donald Trump’s declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The American embassy transferred him to it.
He considered it astonishing that if turning the page on the central Palestinian disputes has become impossible due to political and security complications – despite Egypt playing the role of mediation and sponsorship, and then Algeria, Russia and China – then the goal of establishing the body and continuing its successful work is to exclude the Palestinian arena in Lebanon from these disputes.