True||Following an agreement between the Army and Ain al-Hilweh’s Palestinian factions, a security wall and watchtowers will be built around the camp.||<div name='divDetails' id='divDetails'><p>SIDON, Lebanon: Following an agreement between the Army and Ain al-Hilweh&rsquo;s Palestinian factions, a security wall and watchtowers will be built around the camp. &ldquo;The project to construct the wall will begin soon and immediately after that, watchtowers will be erected,&rdquo; Ain al-Hilweh Hamas official Abu Ahmad Faysal told The Daily Star. &ldquo;We just need to sort out a problem where some of the [proposed] towers are too close to homes within the camp.&rdquo;</p>

<p>The idea and agreement to construct the wall came back in 2010, but work only began last Tuesday. This was because &ldquo;the timing is now convenient,&rdquo; Faysal explained.</p>

<p>&ldquo;The construction of the wall aims to decrease the confrontation between the Palestinian camp inhabitants and the Army. What is most important right now, and during the execution of the construction process, is the proper coordination with the Army to prevent infiltrators or vandals,&rdquo; he said.</p>

<p>Faysal added that the construction of the wall came about following meetings between the various Palestinian factions and the head of Army Intelligence in the south, Brig. Gen. Khodr Hammoud. &ldquo;They were more than positive. ... We came to an agreement to construct the wall and the towers in cooperation with each other. Any source of discontent was delayed so that we could deliberate it later,&rdquo; Faysal added.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Four giant towers will be constructed, while the contentious tower is the one that is to be constructed in the Al-Joura al-Hamra neighborhood as it would only be 3 meters away from houses,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;We were promised by an Army officer ... that they will sort the issue out and we agreed that an Army engineering unit will come Friday morning and work on finding a new location for the tower so that it is 10 meters away from civilian homes.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Al-Joura al-Hamra lies on the southwestern edge of the camp and used be as a training base for Palestinian militants under the command of Palestinian Joint Security Forces head Mounir Mokdah.</p>

<p>As soon as construction work began, the camp erupted in rumor and misinformation concerning the Army. Users on social media called on locals to demonstrate against the wall and to organize a march toward the Army checkpoint at the camp&rsquo;s entrance to demonstrate against the measures.</p>

<p>Security sources spoke in cryptic terms about the culprit behind the misinformation campaign.</p>

<p>&ldquo;The aggravating party responsible for the enticement is both known and unknown at the same time,&rdquo; security sources told The Daily Star. &ldquo;The situation almost spiraled out of control. ... A lot of families moved away from the area, especially after threats that Palestinians would shoot at the Army.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Sources added that armed men, believed to be associated with the extremist Islamist faction Jund al-Sham soon appeared and spread out across the area.</p>

<p>In response the Palestinian Joint Security Forces deployed in defensive screen, preventing anyone from approaching the Army and threatening to open fire if they were attacked.</p>

<p>Following a meeting between the Army and Palestinian factions last Tuesday, a joint statement was issued by the head of the camp&rsquo;s factions &ndash; the first of its kind concerning the proposed wall.</p>

<p>According to the statement, head of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon Gen. Sobhi Abu Arab confirmed that the people of Ain al-Hilweh would stand with the Army as construction works begin.</p>

<p>The statement added that Mokdah had asked the Army Command to alter the wall&rsquo;s route to prevent a local parking lot being bisected.</p>

<p>Following the meetings officials made it clear that there were no objections to the establishment of the wall.</p>

<p>Democratic Front Official Fouad Othman stressed that cooperation was ongoing in all aspects of the construction. &ldquo;There is no Palestinian objection on the wall,&rdquo; he told The Daily Star. &ldquo;There are notes we had on portions of the wall, which we are working out in cooperation with the Army command.&rdquo;</p>

<p>His statements came after a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee toured the western edge of the refugee camp to monitor the establishment of surveillance towers.</p>

<p>A security source told The Daily Star that the delegation, which was formed Tuesday, was made up of the Palestinian Security Committee and Army Intelligence.</p>
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