Weapons handover looms in Lebanon’s Palestinian camps, raising security focus

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

On Friday, the Beddaoui camp experienced an ordinary day. Shops and cafes continued their usual activity, and mosques welcomed worshippers for prayers. Nothing exceptional occurred, and Lebanese-Palestinian commercial activity flowed as usual through its narrow streets. No weapons were delivered, as previously reported.

However, Lebanese sources and sources from the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee said that weapons would actually be handed over at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with three trucks of arms arriving at the camp entrances and being transported to the army barracks in Terbol.

The Beddaoui camp, which has not posed a military or security burden for many years, had not received any instructions until the afternoon.

The same Lebanese sources mentioned that four or five shipments of weapons are expected to be delivered from the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon, the largest Palestinian camp in Lebanon, away from media attention, noting that some logistical arrangements are still being finalized. 

Even in Ain al-Hilweh, however, the head of Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon, General Sobhi Abou Arab, was unaware of the delivery arrangements or instructions in the camp.

While awaiting instructions and the implementation of new weapon deliveries from the Palestine Liberation Organization—following previous phases in Tyre and Beirut—the dialogue committee has held recent communications with other Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

According to sources, the committee’s chairman, Ramez Dimashkieh, informed Palestinian parties of the need to begin exploring ways to fully resolve the Palestinian weapons issue, opening the path for state sovereignty over the camps. 

This is intended as part of practical steps aligned with government decisions, the ministerial statement, and the presidential oath, while ensuring the security, stability, and dignity of the Palestinian community.