According to the Lebanese National News Agency, this measure comes as a continuation of a similar process that began days ago in the ‘Burj Al-Barajneh’ camp in the southern suburbs of the capital. This is part of implementing the outcomes of the Lebanese-Palestinian summit held on May 21st last year between the Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The summit emphasized strengthening Lebanon’s sovereignty over its territories, expanding the authority of the state, and applying the principle of restricting weapons to the Lebanese army. The agency confirmed that this step is part of ongoing efforts to enhance security and stability in Lebanon by consolidating state authority and ensuring that weapons are exclusively in the hands of official institutions.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson, said last Thursday that the Palestinian authorities delivered the first batch of weapons in the ‘Burj Al-Barajneh’ and ‘Al-Buss’ camps, noting that this process will be gradually completed in the remaining camps.
He added that ‘both sides agreed to form a joint committee to monitor the conditions of the camps and improve the living conditions of Palestinian refugees, ensuring them a dignified life without compromising the right of return or national identity,’ emphasizing that ‘the goal is to achieve a stable security situation with full coordination between Lebanese and Palestinian agencies.’
Earlier, Palestinian sources mentioned that the Lebanese army had already begun receiving a batch of weapons and ammunition from the ‘Burj Al-Barajneh’ camp in Beirut, in the presence of representatives from the Palestinian National Security. This development comes within the framework of Lebanese-Palestinian understandings to end the situation within the camps, which remained a subject of internal debate for decades, with a joint assertion that ‘the era of weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state has ended.’
