The PLO Needs to Expel Fatah Al Islam from Nahr El Bared

The PLO representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, expressed support for the Lebanese Authorities and pledged full cooperation with the Lebanese government in supressing what he called the Fatah Al Islam (FAI) "phenomenon". He even stated that he didn't oppose the Lebanese Armed Forces entering Nahr El Bared. This is a pivotal first in the history or Lebanese-Palestinian relations.

What the PLO needs to do is to join action to its words and expel Fatah Al Islam from Nahr El Bared and other Plaestinian "camps". The PLO needs to act fast, all the more so, since the FAI are using the Palestinian civilian population as human shields, and went as far as preventing rescue workers from evacuating the civilian casualties from the "camp". This was done in a criminal attempt at creating a humanitarian disaster that would force the Lebanese government to stop its assault on the terrorist group.

If the PLO cares about the well-being of their civilian constituents in Nahr El Bared, they need to act sooner rather than later. Every hour means more casualties and more misery for the innocent Palestinians of the "camp".

The Lebanese Army Must Enter Nahr El Bared

The Nahr El Bared Palestinian "camp" has clearly become a hornet's nest festering with all sorts of anti-Lebanese subversive elements.

The bloody clashes of the last 24 hours hours and subsequent bomb blast in Ashrafieh are a clear indication of the danger those elements represent.

The Fatah Al Islam (FAI) group deserves no mercy. Many of the soldiers who were killed were stopped at FAI readblocks while they were on leave and un-armed. Furthermore, the group's objectives are nothing short of creating mayhem in Lebanon, following the orders of their masters in Damascus.

The Lebanese government's only option to deal with these elements is to enter Nahr El Bared and cleanse it from the various terrorist and criminal elements who take refuge there. Going into the "camp" will require a degree of courage from the government, and some diplomacy in order to lift the ban imposed on Lebanese security forces from entering such "camps" by the infamous Cairo Accord.

A successful operation in Nahr El Bared will go a long way in establishing the credibility and resolve of the Saniora government, and regaining the pride and morale of the Lebanese Army who made painful sacrifices in the last 24 hours.

A decisive action needs to be undertaken if nothing else but to give meaning to the memory of the soldiers who died performing their duty. We owe it to them to obliterate the Fatah El Islam from Lebanon, once and for all.

Anything else would render meaningless the death of our soldiers.