Lebanon confirms disarming of Palestinian refugee camps to begin in mid-June

Hamas complains it was not represented in decision-making process

A mural depicting late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. Reuters

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday confirmed the process to disarm Palestinian refugee camps in the country will begin in mid-June.

The National reported the likely date last week and Mr Aoun confirmed the process will begin despite criticism from Hamas, which says the demilitarisation framework was adopted without its representation.

"We have formed Lebanese-Palestinian committees, and work will begin in the middle of next month in three Palestinian camps in Beirut to address the issue of the presence of Palestinian weapons there,” Mr Aoun told a US delegation.

Last week, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Lebanese security officials and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's visiting delegation met in Beirut to discuss the process.

Nadine Marouk, director of the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee − an interministerial group that analyses Lebanese government policy towards Palestinian refugees − said any disarmament would happen “with close co-ordination with the Palestinian security forces”.

“Mid-June has been set as a start date with no detailed timeline," Ms Marouk added. "Intensive meetings will take place in the coming days and in the coming two to three weeks,” she said.

A Lebanese government official told The National \disarmament would begin in Shatila, Burj Al Barajneh and Mar Elias camps in Beirut, before moving on to other parts of the country. The move to disarm is based on an accord with Mr Abbas.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before their meeting at the Government Palace in Beirut. EPA

Hamas − a rival of Mr Abbas's Fatah faction that dominates the PA − said all Palestinian groups should have been included in the decision.

“What was included in the joint Lebanese-Palestinian statement represents only the Palestinian Authority. We did not participate in the outcomes of the meeting,” said Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha.

“It would have been more appropriate for it to emerge from the Joint Palestinian Action Committee and be adopted by President Mahmoud Abbas.”

The Joint Palestinian Action Committee represents all Palestinian groups in Lebanon.

The issue of disarming Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps, which are not under Lebanese state control, has long been contentious. Groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, dedicated to armed resistance against Israel and allied with Hezbollah, have frequently used Lebanon as a base to launch rockets at Israel.

Many Palestinians who recall Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war see weapons as necessary for self-defence in the refugee camps. But others maintain that arms have become tools for drug-related violence and internal political rivalries.

Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom live in the 12 overcrowded camps, according to the UN agency UNRWA.

Most are direct refugees or descendants of Palestinians who were expelled from their land during a violent mass removal that led to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. They face a variety of legal restrictions in Lebanon, including on employment.