Lebanon to disarm Palestinian groups in the country from June

Lebanon is planning to disarm Palestinian armed groups operating within its territory, marking a major step towards bringing all militias and weapons in the country under state control. 

 

The move follows the weakening of Iran-backed militias across the region after their confrontation with Israel, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Palestinian factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

 

The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee—a governmental body that serves as a liaison between the state and Palestinian refugees—convened on May 23 to launch a formal disarmament process. The meeting, attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, established the framework for disarmament to proceed according to a specific timetable. The committee also pledged to enhance the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees, long marginalised within Lebanon.

 

Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps are home to approximately two lakh people, according to UNRWA, although nearly five lakh remain registered. The camps are outside the control of Lebanese authorities, and internal security is managed by Palestinian factions. These include President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, the Islamist group Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other Islamist and leftist militias.

 

Since the 1969 Cairo Agreement, jurisdiction over the camps has rested with the Palestine Liberation Organization, rather than the Lebanese security forces. Over the decades, the camps have evolved into densely populated neighbourhoods with deeply entrenched political and militant structures. Subsequently, armed militias have grown, often acting autonomously and fighting with one another, leading to civilian casualties and wider instability.

 

The disarmament move got a push following an agreement between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. During Abbas’s recent visit to Beirut, both leaders announced that Palestinian factions would refrain from using Lebanese territory to launch attacks against Israel. Crucially, they also agreed that weapons in the camps would come under the exclusive authority of the Lebanese state.

 

The latest push shows that Lebanon clearly wants to challenge Hezbollah’s dominance and reassert state sovereignty. Hezbollah has long outmatched the official Lebanese army in strength and territorial control, especially in the country’s south. After the Hamas attacks against Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s massive retaliation in Gaza, Hezbollah joined the fight on behalf of the Palestinians. It triggered a devastating retaliation from Israel, killing over 4,000 Lebanese. The move sparked widespread public discontent and eroded Hezbollah’s domestic support, particularly among the Lebanese Shia population.

 

Moreover, Hezbollah suffered crippling losses under sustained Israeli attacks and was forced to agree to a US-backed ceasefire. Under its terms, Hezbollah agreed to withdraw north of the Litani River while Israel pulled back from southern Lebanon. Since then, the Lebanese army has reclaimed areas and dismantled Hezbollah's infrastructure, aided by United Nations peacekeepers.

 

The same agreement includes a provision for Lebanon to dismantle all non-state militias—most notably Hezbollah and armed Palestinian factions. While Lebanese authorities have made significant strides in recent months, Deputy US Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus recently emphasised that more remains to be done. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, she noted that “Lebanese authorities have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” but added, “We in the United States have called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah… in the whole country.”

 

However, disarming Hezbollah will not be easy. It still enjoys substantial political influence, strong ties with Iran and a loyal base among segments of the population. It may try to delay or obstruct the disarmament of Palestinian groups to avoid setting a precedent that could be used to justify dismantling its own military wing. At the same time, overt opposition to Palestinian disarmament could isolate Hezbollah further within Lebanon, potentially drawing it into a conflict it wishes to avoid.

 

Palestinian groups, for their part, have reacted cautiously. A spokesperson for Palestinian Islamic Jihad expressed scepticism about the motives behind the disarmament push, questioning whether it was intended to appease the United States and undermine the Palestinian “right of return” to what is now Israel. Hamas has said that it does not have armed camps in Lebanon and voiced support for maintaining peaceful relations with the Lebanese state.

 

Another major problem is the fact that the Palestinian factions are not a monolith. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and smaller groups like al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah and Fatah al-Intifada have different ideologies, loyalties and foreign patrons. Some of them have relied on Hezbollah or Syria for support, while others are facing their own leadership problems. 

 

The ouster of the Assad regime in Syria has also hurt the regional support networks that once shielded Palestinian militants. In April, Syria’s new authorities arrested two senior members of Islamic Jihad, signalling a possible strategic shift away from Iran and towards improved ties with the West.

 

Within Lebanon, the path to disarmament will not be straightforward. The armed groups have been embedded in camp life for generations, recruiting, training, and providing a semblance of order in areas the Lebanese state has long neglected. Any serious attempt to remove their weapons must therefore be managed delicately, with attention to both security concerns and refugee welfare.

 

Encouragingly, diplomatic efforts involving regional powers such as Turkey and Qatar have offered mediation support. The head of the joint Lebanese-Palestinian camp monitoring committee, Ramez Dimashkieh, stated that while a detailed mechanism for disarmament has yet to be finalised, there is consensus that the Lebanese army and security services will oversee the process. 

 

As Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said at the May 23 meeting, “Lebanon has entered a new phase—one where dialogue replaces gunfire, and unity replaces division. We owe it to our people, and to our future, to bring peace back within our borders.”

Middle East