The head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) abroad, Khaled Meshaal, called on the Lebanese authorities to punish those he described as the killers in the shooting incident that took place in Burj al-Shamali camp in southern Lebanon a few days ago.

The Palestine Liberation Organization also called for maintaining the security of Palestinian refugee camps, following an emergency meeting held in the Tire area on Thursday.

In a statement after his meeting with the Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian on Thursday, Meshaal said that the shooting in the "Burj Al-Shimali" camp, in southern Lebanon, a few days ago, will not push the movement to abandon national unity and the stability of the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

On the other hand, he stressed that the movement demanded that the killers be handed over to the competent Lebanese authorities and that they be held accountable according to the law. "This crime cannot be justified."

A Hamas delegation led by Meshaal held talks in Beirut Thursday with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, focusing on the situation of Palestinian refugees and the developments of the Palestinian cause.

According to a Hamas statement, the movement’s delegation and the Lebanese side discussed the situation in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, the review of the services of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its repercussions on the conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the Arab host countries.

According to the movement's statement, Meshaal affirmed Hamas' support for Lebanon's unity, security and stability, and its keenness to maintain security and stability in the Palestinian camps.

Meshaal also called for handing over those involved in the "Burj al-Shamali camp massacre" to the competent Lebanese authorities for trial, and working on setting new rules and foundations to preserve joint Palestinian action in Lebanon.

Meshaal had arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the social and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinians in Lebanon, according to a Hamas statement, three days after the killing of 3 Palestinians in the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp in the south of the country, during the funeral of a Hamas cadre, who was killed by an explosion near a mosque. the camp.

Immediately after the incident, Hamas held the Palestinian National Security Forces in the camp, with direct responsibility for what it called the murder and premeditated assassination in Burj Al-Shamali, while the commander of those forces denied the accusations, or that the shooter was from the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) or a member of the National Security Forces. .

Burj Al-Shamali camp witnessed shooting at the funeral of a Hamas activist last Sunday (communication sites)

PLO's invitation

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) factions called, on Thursday, to maintain the security of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, against the backdrop of the killing of the three Palestinians in the Burj al-Shamali camp.

This came in a statement issued after an emergency meeting held by the organization's factions in the Tire region in southern Lebanon.

The statement condemned the shooting that took place last Sunday, during the funeral ceremony of the martyr Hamza Shaheen, a Hamas activist who was killed in an explosion in the camp, two days before.

In their statement, the factions extended their condolences to the families of the dead and to the entire Palestinian people, and called for the highest degree of national responsibility to preserve the security of the Palestinian people and the camps in Lebanon, and to cut off the road to what they described as suspicious projects targeting the camps as a prelude to liquidating the Palestinian cause.

It also called on the factions to block all sedition projects by placing the matter in the custody of the Lebanese judicial and security services, and waiting for the results of investigations.

The statement appreciated the position of Fatah movement and its willingness to hand over everyone who was summoned, and expressed its rejection of accusing the Palestinian National Security Forces and what it described as the principle of accusation and treason, which contributes to increasing tension among the Palestinian people, as the statement put it.

Lebanon includes 12 camps in which 200,000 Palestinian refugees live, according to United Nations statistics.