For decades, Palestinian groups in Lebanon have retained arms, overseeing security in refugee camps established for Palestinians displaced by Israel in 1948 and 1967. However, this era appears to be ending as the Lebanese state attempts to exercise its power over the country, leveraging Hezbollah’s current weakness following its war with Israel.
Lebanon’s new government, led by former International Court of Justice judge Nawaf Salam, has regional and international backing to disarm all non-state actors, including Palestinian groups that have carried arms since a 1969 agreement. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has given his blessing for disarmament during a visit to Lebanon, stating, “We reaffirm our previous position that the presence of weapons in the camps outside the framework of the state weakens Lebanon and also harms the Palestinian cause.”
Abbas met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, and a joint statement declared that “the existence of weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state has ended”. Mustafa Abu Harb, a Fatah official, emphasized, “Abu Mazen [Abbas] came to say that we are guests in Lebanon and not above Lebanese authority… We do not accept weapons in the hands of anyone other than the Lebanese state”.
However, questions surround Abbas’s authority to disarm different Palestinian groups, particularly given his unpopularity among Palestinians in Lebanon. A senior Hamas official, Ali Barakeh, expressed hope that talks between Abbas and Aoun would go beyond disarmament, stating, “We affirm our respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability, and at the same time, we demand the provision of civil and human rights for our Palestinian people in Lebanon”.
Some Palestinians welcome the initiative, with community leader Majdi Majzoub saying, “We as a Palestinian people certainly welcome [the initiative] because things have changed… Palestinian weapons have become a threat to the Palestinian revolution. Now, it is better for us to live under the protection of the Lebanese state”. Others, however, may resist disarmament, citing historical events like the Sabra and Shatila massacre.