Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Baabda, during his meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun. Photo taken from the X account of the Lebanese Presidency. (Credit: @LBpresidency.)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Wednesday, after their meeting, that the era of weapons outside Lebanese state control has ended. This announcement comes as Lebanon seeks to reclaim the exclusive right to hold arms, addressing both Palestinian factions and Hezbollah.
This statement was made as part of a three-day official visit by President Abbas to Lebanon, his first since 2017. The visit is centered around the issue of disarming Palestinian camps in Lebanon, where approximately 220,000 Palestinian refugees live in overcrowded camps beyond Lebanese state authority.
President Abbas arrived in Beirut and went directly to Baabda Palace, where he was welcomed by Lebanese Foreign Minister Joseph Raggi.
In their joint statement, Presidents Aoun and Abbas expressed their commitment to ending the era of arms outside state control. They also emphasized their desire to extend Lebanon’s authority over all its territory, including Palestinian refugee camps.
The two leaders reiterated the importance of a just and stable peace in the region, which would allow Palestinians to establish an independent state, in line with international resolutions. They also expressed their recognition of the legitimate rights of all peoples and countries in the region, without further clarification.
The two presidents condemned Israel's ongoing military aggression against Gaza, which has resulted in heavy human losses and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. They urged the international community to take immediate and serious action to stop the violence and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.
Aoun and Abbas called for the activation of the role of the United Nations and its institutions to safeguard the rights of Palestinians and ensure compliance with international law and the implementation of international resolutions.
The leaders also condemned Israel's repeated attacks on Lebanon and called for international pressure, particularly from the U.S. and France, to ensure that Israel adheres to the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, which includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied hills and the return of Lebanese prisoners.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Lebanese government official stated that President Abbas would discuss a mechanism to collect and remove weapons from the camps. According to an informal agreement, security in the camps is managed by Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas, and other armed groups.
Hamas representative Ali Barakeh called for a comprehensive approach to the Palestinian presence in Lebanon, emphasizing that it should not be limited to arms and security issues. He stressed the need for the guarantee of civil and human rights for Palestinians in Lebanon, who face restrictions on many professions.
In a recent interview, President Aoun reiterated that only the state should control the monopoly on arms, revealing that the Lebanese army had dismantled six Palestinian training camps located outside refugee camps.
Lebanese authorities are committed to asserting control over the entire country following the ceasefire in November between Hezbollah and Israel, which followed over a year of hostilities, including two months of open conflict related to the Gaza war.
The Lebanese Army has deployed in southern Lebanon and is working to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure, the only faction that retained its weapons after the end of the civil war in 1990. However, Hezbollah emerged from its confrontation with Israel significantly weakened.