"The active reinforcement of Lebanese Army positions at Nahr al-Bared shows that the time is approaching for a military operation that will put an end to the phenomenon known as Fatah al-Islam," Ad-Diyar said.
It said the Lebanese military was taking up new position within "a new camp" in Nahr al-Bared, 80 km (50 miles) to the north of Beirut. The "old camp," where Fatah al Islam militants retreated under pressure from Army forces, is surrounded by Lebanese troops.
The paper said the Islamic militants, who have sustained substantial losses in clashes with the Army, "can no longer offer prolonged resistance to Lebanese troops," adding that the number of militants in the area is no more than 50.
Ad-Diyar said Monday joint Palestinian security forces would be sent into the camp, but a Lebanese official declined to comment on the statement, while Palestinians would only be permitted to dispatch their troops to Nahr al-Bared with the consent of the Lebanese military command.
The Nahr al-Bared camp, one of 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, has been torn apart by a month of fighting that has left more than 160 people dead, including 80 Lebanese soldiers and more than 30 civilians. Over 300 Palestinian militants have been killed or wounded.
Most of the territory surrounding the refugee camp is a conglomerate of multi-story buildings seriously damaged in clashes between the Lebanese army and Palestinian militants that have been continuing since May 20.
The Lebanese military command has demanded the unconditional surrender of Fatah al-Islam, reportedly linked to al-Qaeda, and refused to conduct direct talks with the Islamist group.
The Lebanese defense minister said previously that the resistance of Islamic militants at the camp had been crushed.
He said many of Fatah al-Islam leaders had been killed in the clashes, while the group's leader, Shaker al-Absi, and his deputy, Abu Hureira, were likely to be hiding inside the camp among the remaining refugees. The majority of the 40,000 residents fled to the nearby Beddawi camp in the early stages of the conflict.
Under the Cairo Agreement signed between Lebanon and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1969, the Lebanese army cannot cross the camp's official boundaries defined by the UN.
