A Lebanese army soldier is stationed at the Burj al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees in Beirut's southern suburbs as armed Palestinian groups in the refugee camps continue to hand over their weapons to the Lebanese authorities. AFP
Ramez Dimashkieh, chairman of the official Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, told AFP that "the Palestine Liberation Organisation handed over three truckloads of weapons to the Lebanese army", including rockets and heavy weapons.
One truckload came from the Mar Elias camp and Shatila camps, and two from the Burj al-Barajneh camp in Beirut and its suburbs, he said, adding that "this completes the process of handing over" PLO weapons from the Beirut camps.
At the entrance to the Burj al-Barajneh camp, AFP correspondents saw large wooden crates being moved to a nearby parking lot where soldiers inspected them before transporting them away, as troops deployed heavily to the area.
The official National News Agency had earlier reported the arrival of army vehicles in the camp "to receive a new batch of Palestinian weapons".
During a visit to Beirut in May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun agreed that weapons in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps would be handed over to the Lebanese authorities.
The implementation of the deal began last week as Abbas's Fatah movement surrendered weapons in Burj al-Barajneh camp.
Abbas's Fatah is the most prominent PLO faction. Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are allied to Lebanon's Hezbollah group, are not part of the organisation.
Dimashkieh said Friday that "there are still other factions that have not surrendered their weapons but the process has started".
On Thursday, PLO factions handed over heavy weapons in south Lebanon's Rashidieh, Al-Bass and Burj al-Shemali camps, the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee said.
The move to collect Palestinian factions' weapons comes as the Lebanese army drafts a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year.
Israel has been engaged in cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah since launching its war on Gaza in October 2023. Last year, Israeli attacks intensified across Lebanon, killing hundreds, including civilians.
A ceasefire in November ended the Israeli escalation, which also saw Palestinian groups, including Hamas, claim responsibility for rocket fire toward Israel.
Israel has yet to withdraw from southern Lebanon, as stipulated in the agreement.
By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army avoids entering Palestinian camps, leaving security to the factions themselves.
Hezbollah has insisted that Israel must withdraw before any talks on its own disarmament can begin. It warned Beirut that pressing for its disarmament plays into Israel’s hands.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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