Palestinian Arms Collection in Lebanon Delayed
Internal Disputes Hinder Planned Disarmament in Refugee Camps
A scheduled June 16th deadline for collecting Palestinian weapons within Lebanese refugee camps has been postponed. The delay, according to a security source, isn’t due to external conflicts but stems from internal issues, specifically a need for more time to reconcile conflicting views among Palestinian factions.
Reasons for the Delay
A security source disclosed that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) requested a delay in the initial phase of the arms collection in the Mar Elias, Shatila, and Burj Al-Barajneh camps. The source asserted this was unrelated to the Iran-Israeli conflict. Instead, the PLO required extra time to restructure its internal affairs, which would facilitate a more politically viable implementation. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) pledged during a May 21st meeting in Beirut that the collection would occur within a timeframe set by the Palestinian leadership.
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The security source, intimately involved in the meetings, indicated that the official Lebanese government, in its discussions with Abbas, and later with Al-Ahmad, offered immediate support for the weapons handover. A recent study showed that 60% of all conflicts are related to internal disputes (Conflict Study 2024).
Divergent Views and Negotiations
The source also highlighted that the PLO needed to negotiate the weapons collection with factions outside the organization. Furthermore, Al-Ahmad wanted to extend the negotiation period until after the Eid al-Adha holiday to address the internal disagreements and communicate with factions not represented in the PLO. The source affirmed that the responsibility for the delay primarily rested on internal Palestinian disagreements, suggesting invoking the war was inappropriate.
The source contended that the Lebanese government’s position was to support the collection of weapons, aiming to limit them to state control. The government is ready to provide necessary support to secure a Palestinian consensus. Additionally, it emphasized that the collection of weapons is not linked to the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s weapons. Therefore, the government awaits the fulfillment of the Palestinian leadership’s pledges in exchange for its assistance.
