BEIRUT: Armed Palestinian groups in refugee camps in Lebanon will start handing over their weapons to the authorities on Thursday, a joint committee said, following a deal reached in May.
The announcement comes after the Lebanese government also tasked the army with formulating a plan to disarm the militant group Hezbollah by the end of the year.
“Today marks the beginning of the first phase of the process of handing over weapons from inside the Palestinian camps,” Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee chairman Ramez Dimashkieh said in a statement.
The process would begin with the Burj Al-Barajneh camp in Beirut, where an initial batch of weapons would be placed in the custody of the Lebanese army, Dimashkieh added.
An AFP photojournalist saw dozens of fighters in military fatigues holding Kalashnikov rifles as crowds gathered in front of the Beirut headquarters of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement.
A Palestinian security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that “Fatah will begin handing over its weapons in Burj Al-Barajneh camp within the framework of the coordination with the Lebanese army.”
Abbas visited Beirut in May and reached an agreement with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that all arms in Palestinian camps would be surrendered to the state.
A Palestinian security source at Burj Al-Barajneh camp said “Fatah’s initiative in beginning to hand over weapons is symbolic, and came as a result of an agreement between Aoun and the Palestinian president’s son, Yasser Abbas, who is currently visiting Beirut.”
It aims to “encourage the remaining (Palestinian armed) factions to take the same step,” the source said, noting that the other influential factions in the camp “have not yet decided to hand over their weapons.”
The Palestinian Authority does not exercise power over the remaining factions in the camps, most notably Hamas.
Lebanon has come under heavy US pressure to disarm Hamas’s ally Hezbollah after the Iran-backed Lebanese movement was dealt a massive blow during its war with Israel last year.
That conflict was the culmination of a year of hostilities launched by Hezbollah in support of Hamas after the Palestinian group’s October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency UNRWA, with many living in overcrowded camps outside of the state’s control.
Palestinian camps in Lebanon to start disarming
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Palestinian camps in Lebanon to start disarming
- Armed Palestinian groups in Lebanese refugee camps will start handing over their weapons to the authorities on Thursday, a joint committee said, following deal reached in May
- Lebanese government has also tasked army to formulate plan to disarm Hezbollah
Over 600 Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa on 4th day of Hanukkah
- Jerusalem Governorate reported that settlers conducted provocative tours of Al-Aqsa courtyards and performed Talmudic ritual
LONDON: Israeli settlers entered the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, the fourth day of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.
Settlers toured the compound with Israeli forces, who imposed strict restrictions to hinder Palestinian access to the holy site. The Palestinian Authority-affiliated Jerusalem Governorate reported that 689 settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups, conducting provocative tours of its courtyards and performing Talmudic rituals, according to Wafa news agency.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces shot four Palestinians during a raid in the city of Nablus on Wednesday. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that the injuries included a gunshot wound to the chest, a knee injury, a shrapnel wound, and fragments lodged in the head.
Forces raided the Aqaba neighborhood in the walled city of Nablus, as well as the vicinities of Ras Al-Ain, Khan Al-Tikar and Al-Shuhada. The operation resulted in confrontations with Palestinians, during which Israeli forces used live bullets and tear gas.
