28 AUAD v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT Largely beyond the state’s reach, the camps have become de facto sanctuaries for weapons but also for Lebanese and Palestinian fugitives sought by Lebanese authorities, including very often for minor offences. Caught in the camps and with no realistic prospect on the outside, they form a sizeable pool of potential jihadi recruits. Militant groups offer protection, a social network and, in some cases, a cause in which to believe. A PLO official remarked: ‘They are trapped in the camps and have no future outlook. They fear they will live the rest of their lives as fugitives and thus are easily manipulated’. ... ... the groups have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo in the camps, avoiding state interference and reaching tacit understandings with a variety of local actors. In Ain al-Helweh, Usbat al-Ansar is now seen by all Palestinian factions – including Fatah, its traditional foe – as a full-fledged participant in the camp’s security structure. Likewise, the leader of al-Haraka al-Islamiyya al-Mujahida, Sheikh Jamal Khattab, helps mediate between major Palestinian factions and more militant groups in Ain al-Helweh. Ain al-Helweh provides a good example of how local actors seek to avoid clashes with jihadi groups. For Hizbollah, a confrontation could deepen sectarian tensions, thereby further exposing it to the charge of being a narrow Shiite group. ... For its part, Fatah is wary of a confrontation with Usbat al-Ansar whose outcome would not be guaranteed. The Future Movement and in particular the Hariri family fear that a crisis with jihadi groups could jeopardise their hegemony over the Sunni community. During a 2004 crisis, Usbat al-Ansar joined in efforts to force Jund al-Sham from one of the camp’s northern neighbourhoods. ...” 3. United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants: World Refugee Survey 2009: Lebanon 79. The United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1911 to serve refugees and immigrants and defend the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons worldwide. It publishes annual World Refugee Survey and Refugee Reports. 80. In its 2009 country profile on Lebanon, issued on 17 June 2009, it noted, inter alia, the following: “Clashes between Fatah and the fundamentalist, reportedly al Qaeda-inspired group Jund al-Sham in [A]in [al-]Hilweh camp killed several Palestinians. Fighting killed three[:] a Jund al-Sham leader and two other Palestinians in July. Three died and three were wounded in a gun battle in mid-September, and about a week later an explosion killed one and wounded four.” F. News Reports 81. In a news report of 21 March 2008 the BBC described Jund al-Sham (“Soldiers of Greater (or historic) Syria”) as a radical splinter group formed