SIDON, Lebanon: Officials from Islamist organizations and a senior Lebanese security official have met recently to address the issue of wanted Islamists in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, informed sources told The Daily Star.

The prospect of examining the judicial files of each fugitive Islamist to assess the relative strength of the cases against them – acquitting those whose cases rest on baseless accusations and ordering retrials for those who were tried in absentia – was mulled over by attendees in the gathering, the first of its kind to address the issue.

In remarks he made at the end of meeting, the senior Lebanese security official promised to relay to relevant authorities complaints he heard about “false” charges against Islamists inside the camp, according to the sources.

The meeting was held at the office of Sheikh Maher Hammoud, the imam of Qods Mosque in Sidon, in a bid to further stabilize the situation in Palestinian refugee camps and Lebanon, in light of the turmoil in the region.

According to the same sources, in attendance were Abu Tareq al-Saadi, an official from the Ain al-Hilweh camp-based Esbat al-Ansar Islamist movement, its spokesperson Abu Sharif Aql and Sheikh Jamal Khattab, the head of the Islamic Jihadist Movement, who is also the spokesperson for Islamist movements based in Ain al-Hilweh.

The meeting in Sidon, which lasted for more than one hour, focused on two major issues.

The first was studying the cases and files of some wanted Islamists in the camp, especially those who have been convicted or have outstanding arrest warrants issued in absentia.

A number of Islamists are wanted in the Ain al-Hilweh camp on charges such as possessing arms, opening fire on Lebanese Army personnel, and inciting violence inside the camp.

The Islamists at the meeting raised the issue of accusations made against some figures inside the camp, arguing that these charges “are based on false reports and fabrications made by informers who sell their reports at the cheapest price.”

They argued that the time has come to examine the charges and acquit those who have been wrongly accused.

The meeting also touched on measures to establish a united police force in the camp in coordination with Lebanese authorities, and discussed the possibility of seeing Islamist groups take part in this force.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority decided recently to form a new force to police refugee camps in Lebanon, which have been under the control of local factions since the 1970s.

It was unclear whether the meeting was held at the request of the Lebanese security official or Esbat al-Ansar.

Some sources told The Daily Star that representatives of Islamist groups presented a number of questions to the security official and asked that they be relayed to Lebanon’s judicial and security authorities.

They asked for the reasons why membership in Esbat al-Ansar or any Islamist group in the camp is still punishable under Lebanese law.

According to the same sources, the Islamists detailed the “central role” the groups have played to preserve security in the camp, to control certain destabilizing factions and prevent them from attacking Lebanese Army posts, especially when clashes broke out between the Islamist group Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon in summer 2007.

They also highlighted the role of Islamist groups in handing over wanted members in the camp to the Lebanese Army or forcing them out of the camp.

The same sources said that the Lebanese security official praised the actions of the Islamist groups and their role in controlling the security situation in the camp.