RAMALLAH, West Bank — Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah's Central Committee and the PLO's Executive Committee, held a series of meetings in mid-January in Beirut with high-ranking Lebanese officials to discuss the political situation in Palestine and the Palestinian refugees and camps in Lebanon. His meeting included visits with President Michel Aoun, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, then-Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem.
That a Fatah representative met with a Hezbollah representative in and of itself signifies an improvement in ties between the two movements. Relations between Hamas and Fatah, the leading faction in the PLO, have not been close in part because of PLO talks with Israel in US-sponsored negotiations, which Hezbollah has roundly criticized. Meanwhile, to Fatah's consternation, Hezbollah has offered its support to its rivals, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.