Palestinian refugee camp disarmed in Lebanon

The Lebanese military said the handover was carried out in coordination with Palestinian officials and is part of a broader plan to remove weapons from all 12 Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Lebanese security authorities confirmed Wednesday that weapons and ammunition were transferred from the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, marking another step in Beirut’s efforts to disarm the camps.

The Lebanese military said the handover was carried out in coordination with Palestinian officials and is part of a broader plan to remove weapons from all 12 Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon. The move follows months of intermittent negotiations between Lebanese authorities and Palestinian factions.

According to the Palestinian Authority’s National Security Forces, the arms delivered from Ain al-Hilweh constitute “the fifth batch of heavy weapons” surrendered by the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The transfer was carried out under a joint declaration issued May 21 by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, committing to closer security coordination.

Aoun has made enforcing the state’s exclusive authority over weapons a central priority of his presidency. Lebanese officials have framed the policy as a matter of sovereignty and internal stability, though it is widely understood to carry broader implications in a country where armed groups operate outside full state control.

Palestinian sources said the latest handover reflects continued cooperation between the Lebanese army and Fatah, the dominant faction within the PLO. The organization began transferring weapons to Lebanese authorities in August and last completed a similar step in September, according to Arabic-language media reports.

Not all Palestinian factions, however, are participating. The Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network quoted a PLO official in Lebanon as saying that Fatah remains the only group currently surrendering arms. Other factions, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have declined to follow suit.

Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, has long been a flashpoint for armed clashes and internal violence among rival factions, making it a focal point for security efforts. Lebanese officials have repeatedly said the gradual removal of weapons from the camps is intended to reduce instability without provoking large-scale confrontations.