The Palestine Liberation Organisation has adopted measures to “isolate” Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist grouping blamed for deadly bombings in Lebanon, the PLO representative in Beirut said. “We are attempting to isolate Fatah al-Islam because we do not want the Palestinians to be perceived as an element of instability in Lebanon,” Abbas Ziki told AFP in an interview on Friday.
Last month, Lebanese Interior Minister Hassan Sabeh said detained members of Fatah al-Islam had admitted carrying out bus bombings in a mountain village on February 13 that killed three people. But Fatah al-Islam, a small grouping which first came to be known last November and which is based in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon, has denied any involvement in the attacks, Ziki said Lebanese authorities were holding 15 members of the Islamist grouping over the bus attacks. Outlining the steps being taken, Ziki said the PLO military and political factions were determined to contain Fatah al-Islam, although without resorting to violence. “We have named a new military command, created a joint intervention force and released funds,” said Ziki. |