Hundreds of Palestinian insurgents entering Lebanon from Syria
Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com, October 11, 2005

Lebanese security sources said hundreds of Palestinian insurgents have
crossed the Syrian border into Lebanon over the past two weeks. The sources
said the insurgents, aided by Syria, have brought large amounts of weapons
to their bases in Lebanon.

The government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has asked the United
States to help secure the mountainous frontier with physical barriers,
lethal platforms and sensors. At the same time, Lebanese troops and police
have been deployed along the eastern border with Syria.

On Sept. 28, an FBI delegation began investigating a series of bombings of
prominent Lebanese in the Beirut area. The attacks included the car bombing
that maimed a Lebanese television journalist. Lebanese sources said fighters
from the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command have been streaming into Lebanon. The PFLP-GC, headed by Syrian Army
Capt. Ahmed Jibril, is the leading Palestinian ally of Damascus. The group
has maintained bases in Lebanon despite the Syrian military withdrawal in
April 2005. The Lebanese army established 25 border checkpoints and arrested
scores of PFLP-GC fighters entering Lebanon's Bekaa Valley from Syria, the
sources said. They said, however, that other insurgents have succeeded in
resupplying PLFP-GC bases in Dir Al Asher, Naamah as well as the Palestinian
refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla. In response, Jibril has declared an
alert and directed commanders to prepare to mobilize forces. Jibril has
appealed to other Palestinian factions to confront the Lebanese military.

Siniora said a team of U.S. experts arrived in Beirut to assist the
investigation into bombings throughout Lebanon. Lebanese authorities were
having difficulty gathering and examining forensic evidence from the
attacks, which have been attributed to Syria, Siniora said.

U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said the FBI team would provide technical
expertise in the investigation of the bombings. He did not elaborate.