By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A senior Palestinian commander of the mainstream Fatah faction said Tuesday that seven Fatah al-Islam operatives who have battled the Lebanese army in a northern Lebanon refugee camp have now surrendered to his group.
Fatah commander Maj.-Gen. Khaled Aref, based in the southern Ein el-Hilweh camp, told The Associated Press that the seven from the Nahr el-Bared camp came over to Fatah positions, handed over their weapons and pledged to stay out of the fighting.
Most Palestinian factions - such as Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group - have opposed the al-Qaida inspired Fatah al-Islam, but have resisted authorities' calls to actively campaign against the fighters.
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