SIDON, Lebanon: Former Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki, who arrives in the country Thursday, is expected to stress the neutrality of Palestinian refugees toward Lebanese politics and regional turmoil, Palestinian sources told The Daily Star.

Separately, other Palestinian sources said that they were satisfied with the current state of stability in the country’s camps, adding that Fatah was making an effort to prevent the crisis in neighboring Syria from effecting the camps.

Zaki, who is also a member of Fatah’s central committee and the movement’s Arab relations official, will be in Lebanon to take part in the meeting of the general secretariat of the National Arab Conference, which will kick off Friday.

He is also expected to hold a series of meetings with Lebanese officials and party representatives to brief them on efforts to cement reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. He will discuss the dangers threatening the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, and stress that refugee camps in Lebanon will not become involved in the country’s internal politics or the turbulence in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad is grappling with an 11-month anti-regime uprising.

According to sources, it is unlikely that Zaki will touch on the rivalry within Fatah ranks in Lebanon, especially between senior Fatah commander Munir Maqdah and Brig. Mahmoud Issa, the head of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Armed Struggle force in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon.

Two bodyguards for Issa, commonly known as Lino, were assassinated late last year in the camp within a few days of each other.

Amid reports that Maqdah was involved in the killings, Fatah officials handed one of the suspects under Maqdah’s command to the Lebanese authorities. The suspect was released shortly after for lack of evidence.

Zaki is also expected to meet with officials from factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The senior Fatah official’s visit comes amid efforts to unite various Palestinians factions in Lebanon under one representative body and to form a new police force to replace the Palestinian Armed Struggle.

Azzam al-Ahmad, the head of Fatah’s Parliamentary bloc and the official responsible for Lebanon in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, has cancelled a planned trip to Lebanon more than once, while awaiting a final agreement on the representative body.

Armed clashes broke out after the assassination of the second bodyguard, raising fears that turmoil in Syria would spill into Lebanon, especially since Ain al-Hilweh is home to more than a dozen factions, each with different allegiances and some close to Syria.

But other Palestinian sources told that The Daily Star Wednesday that there has been stability in camps across Lebanon due to a series of meetings held between Palestinian factions, and practical measures on the ground to prevent pro- or anti-Assad demonstrations.

Islamic and secular factions have intensified talks and coordination to prevent tension, under the slogan “security is a red line which should not be crossed.”

The sources said that the Ain al-Hilweh camp is a model for how to prevent the crisis in Syria from spilling into the camps.

Fatah leaders are also: holding daily meetings with residents in all camps to follow-up on any developments, contacting Lebanese party leaders that are influential in the camps, examining information about potential demonstrations by Salafist groups – particularly in Ain al-Hilweh and Beirut – and asking refugees to inform them of any suspicious incidents.