On Monday, three days of fighting in the Palestinian settlement of Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanon came to an end, leaving an estimated nine dead and 40 wounded. It appears that the efforts of Fatah, the PLO faction that governs much of the West Bank, to exert its dominance over its rivals among Lebanese Palestinians had led to a violent backlash from jihadist groups. A ceasefire was brokered with the help of Hizballah, the Iran-backed terrorist group that exerts de-facto control over the country. Benny Avni explains:

The clash at Ein el-Hilweh, on the edges of the Lebanese city of Sidon, is part of tensions between factions vying for power inside one of twelve UN-run Palestinian enclosures in Lebanon. While defined as refugee camps, they are in fact midsized, autonomous cities wallowing in poverty, anger, and militancy. The escalation of tensions between a faction loyal to the Ramallah-based Fatah and armed Islamic fundamentalists worries the Beirut leadership, which is already struggling to address Lebanon’s multiple crises. It could also be a harbinger of infighting among Palestinians elsewhere, including in the West Bank.

The Lebanese army and its law-enforcement officials rarely enter the Palestinian enclaves, where the only outside authority is the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which cares for Palestinians residing in Lebanon, as well as some nearly half a million Palestinians who maintain their refugee status in several Arab countries, the West Bank, and Gaza.

In Lebanon, some 200,000 descendants of Arabs who had been relocated during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 are under UNRWA’s care. . . . Palestinians in Lebanese UNRWA-run enclaves are denied citizenship and are barred from working in most professions, and their travel is restricted. Inside, the camps are divided by neighborhoods according to rivaling loyalties—to family, clan, political affiliation, religion, or ideology. Clashes occur regularly, though this weekend’s fire exchange marks an uptick in violence.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.