A mural depicting the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is seen on the wall of a building in the Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp ahead of President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Lebanon, in Beirut, on May 20, 2025. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters.)
BEIRUT — According to information obtained by L'Orient Today from a source close to the Serail, a gradual process has been installed for the withdrawal of weapons in the Palestinian camps.
The first phase will begin in mid-June in the Beirut camps: Bourj al-Barajneh, Shatila, and Mar Elias. The camps in the Bekaa Valley and the North (Jalil and Beddawi) will follow at the beginning of July. Then the third phase will take place in the other camps in the South.
Everything will be based on an agreement between the Lebanese authorities and the Palestinian factions.
Discussions about Hamas will take place with the movement, and once the process begins, neither Hamas nor other factions will be able to stop it. If there is any obstruction, pressure will be applied, with support from some Arab and regional parties helping Lebanon persuade Hamas to surrender its weapons. If obstruction occurs, pressures will be applied, and some Arab and regional parties are assisting Lebanon in persuading Hamas to surrender its weapons.
First meeting of the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Since the November cease-fire between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel — marking the end of over a year of hostilities, including two months of open conflict linked to the Gaza war — Lebanese authorities have committed to reasserting control over the entire country. The Lebanese Army has deployed in the South and is working to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, the only Lebanese faction to have retained its weapons after the civil war ended in 1990, but now significantly weakened by its confrontation with Israel.
Against this backdrop, the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, chaired by Ramez Dimachkieh and tasked with overseeing the situation in Palestinian camps across Lebanon, held its first meeting on Friday in Beirut. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam attended the session and issued directives to "accelerate practical steps through the establishment of a clear implementation mechanism and a defined timeline" for disarming the camps, according to a statement received by our publication.
Participants in the first meeting of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee agreed to launch a weapons handover process according to a "specific timeline," alongside concrete steps to "strengthen the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees."
No exact dates were given. The statement added that joint meetings and communication would be intensified to begin implementing these directives across all levels without delay.
Discussions also focused on implementing the "directives outlined in the joint statement" from the meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. These include limiting weapons to the Lebanese state and respecting its sovereignty, as well as enhancing coordination between Lebanese and Palestinian authorities to maintain stability in and around the camps.
These developments coincide with Abbas’s official visit to Lebanon, which began Wednesday. In a joint declaration with Aoun, both leaders stated that "the era of weapons beyond state authority is over." This marks Abbas's first official visit to Lebanon since 2017. The country hosts around 220,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom live in overcrowded camps outside the reach of Lebanese state control.
Hamas, Fateh’s rival faction, insists that a "comprehensive approach" is needed to address the Palestinian presence in Lebanon — not one limited to security or disarmament — according to comments by Hamas official Ali Barakeh, cited by AFP.
On Thursday, following meetings with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Abbas reiterated his commitment to Lebanese sovereignty, including within the Palestinian camps, and expressed a desire to improve living conditions there.