THE Palestinian commander and his six fighters sheltered from a biting wind in their tiny post thousands of feet above the Bekaa Valley. An AK47 rifle hung from the roof, with two magazines bound together with yellow tape and an old military radio connected to car batteries.

“We have many posts in the Bekaa (Valley), but we are not going to leave any of them because the Palestinian issue has not been resolved,” said Abu Abdullah, the commander, whose Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General Command stands vigil on the lonely, windswept plateau.

The pro-Syrian Palestinian faction is defying growing calls in Lebanon to shut down its bases in the Bekaa Valley, which runs alongside the rugged mountainous border with Syria. The militant faction, far from abiding by a United Nations resolution calling for its withdrawal, after Syrian troops left the country two weeks ago, is bolstering its positions, witnesses say.

Most of the PFLP-GC camps in the Bekaa were established in the 1970s under the protection of the Syrian Army deployed in Lebanon. However, the withdrawal two weeks ago of the last Syrian troops from Lebanon has placed pressure on the militants to close down their bases and return to the overcrowded refugee camps, where most Palestinians live.

UN Security Council Resolution 1559 calls for the disbanding of all “Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias”, a reference to Hezbollah and the armed Palestinian groups. Yet, instead of disbanding, the Palestinians are expanding their mountain-top position above Qussaya, according to local residents.

“I would love them to leave now, but we can’t get them to leave by force because we are too weak. We need the Government to get rid of them,” one resident said.

The PFLP-GC outpost lies 3,000ft above Qussaya and is reached by a steep, winding dirt track. A swing gate blocked the entrance as wind-tattered and sun-bleached Palestinian flags snapped in the wind. Huts and tents could be seen in the distance and numerous tracks criss-crossed the area.

“This is an administrative position,” Abu Abdullah said, denying the existence of any military equipment. “We have 25 logistical specialists and a small clinic. We don’t carry weapons and we don’t wear military uniforms.”

Jafaar Hassan, a goat herder in the area, contradicted him. He said that the base contained armoured vehicles and new roads were being constructed across the border into Syria. “The number of Palestinians is increasing, not decreasing,” he said, pointing at an old Syrian military Jeep inching down a steep track a few hundred yards away.

Last week, PFLP-GC gunmen at the same position fired warning shots and barred access to a UN team verifying the Syrian troop withdrawal. The UN team had been in the process of investigating reports that Syrian soldiers were present at the base.

Charles Rizk, the Lebanese Information Minister, said that the Palestinians have no right to carry weapons in Lebanon. “We do not recognise any other armed group, except the Lebanese resistance,” he said, referring to Hezbollah.

Nevertheless, with key parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of the month, the recently formed Lebanese Government is unwilling to become sidetracked by a confrontation with the Palestinians.

The PFLP-GC are not the only Palestinians manning military outposts in the Bekaa Valley. In a secluded wadi just a few hundred yards from the Syrian border, four old men, members of the small Fatah Intifada faction, sat in a hut, smoking cigarettes and drinking glasses of tea. An old military radio set connected to car batteries sat on the table next to a small red television.

It was a lonely posting for the wrinkled and stooped veterans of the Palestinian revolution. Their green military uniforms were neat and clean and one Palestinian wore freshly polished black leather army boots — but their fighting days are long over.

“We’re going to leave here soon,” a grey-haired lieutenant- colonel said, leaning on a cane. He had just arrived in an army lorry across the unguarded border from Damascus, the Syrian capital, which is 30 minutes’ drive away. “We’re going back to the camps in Lebanon because our real job is to protect the camps,” he said.

“When we are sure the camps are not in danger, then we will disarm.”

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