Under US pressure, Lebanon begins disarming Palestinian factions in refugee camps

Lebanon's move to disarm Palestinian factions within the 12 refugee camps in the country began on Thursday with the Burj al-Barajneh camp in Beirut, the prime minister's office announced.

The move stems from a 21 May meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during which they agreed that only the Lebanese state should bear arms. 

But it is also a result of US pressure on Lebanon to consolidate all weapons under the purview of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and away from groups that directly threaten Israel, chief among them being Hezbollah.

It is ultimately also a condition of the ceasefire Lebanon signed with Israel in November, despite Israel's continued bombing campaigns in southern Lebanon which violate the ceasefire.

A senior Palestinian Fatah commander in Burj al-Barajneh, Sobhi Abu Arab, told the Lebanese al-Jadeed broadcaster on Thursday that the weapons that are being immediately handed over are "illicit weapons" that his men have rounded up in the camp, and not their own.

Fatah is the Palestinian party whose members form the largest part of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. 

When asked where these weapons came from, Abu Arab responded: "From all over... but what would you want with that information?"

He gave no indication that the state had specifically asked for the disarmament of Fatah fighters in the camp.

What happens in these camps since Palestinians were ousted from their homes in 1948 during the ethnic cleansing campaign for the creation of the Israeli state, has largely fallen outside Lebanese jurisdiction.

Abu Arab insisted that the Lebanese public should "rest assured" that "the Lebanese and Palestinians are one", and that he has coordinated the weapons handover with the Lebanese intelligence and security establishment. 

Crackdown 

During his visit to Paris last month to meet President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam came to realise that Lebanon's situation was far more precarious than many believed, Middle East Eye reported this week. 

France, long known for mediating Lebanon's political crises, made it clear to Salam that the country could not survive without implementing reforms, particularly the disarmament of non-state actors, namely Hezbollah, under international supervision.

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There would be no renewal of the UN peacekeeping force Unifil's mandate, as France could not bear the full cost without US funding; no donor or reconstruction conference without Saudi participation; and no security stability, given Israel's determination to disarm Hezbollah by force if Lebanese authorities failed to do so themselves.

Salam briefed President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and moved to convene a cabinet session to discuss a US proposal for Hezbollah's disarmament. 

Less than two weeks later, Salam returned to Baabda Palace, away from the media, determined to approve the US proposal, presented by envoy Thomas Barrack, in full with a timetable, as a way to "shield the state from the next wave of international escalation".

But Hezbollah accused Salam of breaking his official commitments, saying: "When Prime Minister Nawaf Salam adopts the American envoy's roadmap, he is going against all the commitments he made in his ministerial statement, as well as those in the president's inauguration speech."

Hezbollah denounced the government's move as a "grave sin" that strips Lebanon "of the weapon of resistance" against Israel, and vowed to disregard it.