Disarmament stalls: Palestinian arms deal in Beirut derailed by war, internal divisions

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

June 16 had initially been set as the start date for the handover of Palestinian weapons, beginning with the camps in Beirut. But the roar of regional war has allowed the failure of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to follow through on his commitments to pass largely unnoticed.

However, the war has only served to obscure what was already a faltering process. Even in the absence of conflict, the agreement was unlikely to be implemented. 

Abbas’s pledge to disarm faces longstanding internal Palestinian obstacles that predate the war.

According to two Lebanese sources, Abbas’s commitment to surrender weapons received a lukewarm response within the Palestine Liberation Organization, which includes factions opposed to disarmament.

While Palestinian sources insist that the PLO factions will ultimately comply with whatever the Palestinian president decides, regardless of internal objections, they also acknowledge another complicating factor: weapons held by other groups—including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Asbat al-Ansar, and hardline factions, especially in the Ein El Hilweh camp. Addressing this requires direct dialogue with those groups.

The sources noted that a Palestinian security delegation had visited Lebanon prior to Eid al-Adha to discuss the issue and then returned to Ramallah, with plans to return after the holiday—a trip that never happened.

The Lebanese side had been waiting for a clear timeline and mechanism for the handover, along with a designated starting point for implementation. 

A week passed without any response before the outbreak of war made it even more difficult for the delegation to travel from Ramallah, due to restricted air travel and the closure of regional airspace.

Despite the delay, Lebanese officials maintain that the matter is not closed. Once conditions stabilize, they intend to resume efforts to reach a practical framework for disarmament. 

Authorities in Lebanon have approached the issue through dialogue rather than confrontation, expressing in several meetings support for Palestinian rights—so long as they do not lead to permanent resettlement—and emphasizing that all arms must ultimately be under the control of the Lebanese state.