Lebanese army disarmament campaign

By Amira Rajab

Beirut (dpa) — The Lebanese Army has collected light weapons from a Palestinian refugee camp for the first time as part of a disarmament campaign, the NNA state news agency reported on Thursday.

A truck left Bourj el-Barajneh in the early evening with covered weapons, the agency said. No incidents were reported during the operation.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the “start of the Palestinian weapons handover process.” The first shipment had been passed to the Lebanese army, he wrote on X. Further handovers would follow in the coming weeks.

The Lebanese government is under pressure to enforce a ceasefire struck between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, which includes bringing all weapons in the country under state control.

Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are controlled by various groups and attacks have been planned from these locations in the past.

The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed an agreement with Lebanon to begin the handover of weapons. Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said further transfers from other camps would follow.

Light weapons include heavy machine guns, portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and portable rocket launchers.

During a visit to Beirut in May, Abbas had spoken to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about ending all armed activities outside state control in Lebanon.

However, Abbas does not represent all Palestinian groups in Lebanon. Rival groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad often hold different positions from those of the Palestinian Authority led by him.

A statement issued by Palestinian factions in Lebanon said that what was happening in Bourj el-Barajneh had nothing to do with the issue of Palestinian weapons in camps. Rather, it was an internal matter for Fatah, Abbas’s organization.

US envoy Tom Barrack congratulated the Lebanese government and Fatah for their “agreement on voluntary disarmament in Beirut camps.”

He called it an “historic step toward unity and stability,” in a post on X.

The monopolization of weapons, and thus the disarmament of Hezbollah, is one of the central demands of Israel and its ally the United States. Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military continues to launch attacks on Lebanon, resulting in casualties.