The Media Line: Palestinian Factions Surrender Weapons in Lebanese Refugee Camps Under Disarmament Deal 

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Palestinian Factions Surrender Weapons in Lebanese Refugee Camps Under Disarmament Deal 

By The Media Line Staff  

Several Palestinian groups in Lebanon have transferred truckloads of weapons to the Lebanese military as part of an ongoing agreement to remove arms not sanctioned by the state. The latest handovers took place Saturday in the Ain el-Hilweh and Beddawi refugee camps, marking a cautious continuation of the deal reached earlier this year.  

The disarmament process, which began last month, has progressed slowly. On Saturday, five truckloads of weapons were handed over from Ain el-Hilweh, the country’s largest Palestinian camp, located near the southern coastal city of Sidon. According to Abdul Hadi al-Assadi, spokesperson for the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon, the arms belonged to factions affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization.  

Simultaneously, three trucks carrying weapons from the Beddawi camp, located near Tripoli in the north, were delivered to a Lebanese army facility in the city, as confirmed by both a Palestinian official and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.  

The move is part of a broader effort to reduce the number of non-state weapons in Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon. Previous transfers have taken place in camps in Beirut and in the southern province of Tyre.  

There are 12 Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon, none of which fall under Lebanese government control. Ain el-Hilweh alone hosts an estimated 75,000 residents and has been a flashpoint for violence, particularly between Palestinian Authority-aligned Fatah forces and Islamist factions not included in the disarmament arrangement. In 2023, clashes in the camp left 30 dead and hundreds injured.