ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

The Lebanese army is set to carry out the fourth stage of disarming Palestinian camps in the country on Saturday, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

The military reportedly plans to start by disarming camps in Beddawi in northern Lebanon.  After spending three days working to remove weapons there, the military then plans to move to Ain al-Hilweh camp in the south.

Hezbollah-affiliated network Al-Mayadeen reported that five trucks loaded with weapons for the PLO, including missiles, were transferred to the Lebanese army from Ain al-Hilweh. Three trucks with weapons were transferred from the Al-Baddawi camp.

Ambassador Ramez Dimechkie, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, said the decision is “clear and firm in asserting the authority of the state over all Lebanese territories. The camps are not outside this framework.”

This comes after the Pentagon approved a security assistance package for Lebanon with an estimated value of $14.2 million.

Lebanon's Hezbollah members hold party flags as they listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters via a screen during a rally marking the anniversary of the defeat of militants near the Lebanese-Syrian border, in al-Ain village, Lebanon August 25, 2019.
Lebanon's Hezbollah members hold party flags as they listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters via a screen during a rally marking the anniversary of the defeat of militants near the Lebanese-Syrian border, in al-Ain village, Lebanon August 25, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/AZIZ TAHER)

LAF start disarming Palestinians camps

The Presidential Drawdown Authority package would build the Lebanese Armed Forces' capability and capacity to dismantle weapons caches and military infrastructure of non-state groups, including Hezbollah, the Pentagon said.

Discussions regarding disarmament began in May when Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced his intentions to disarm foreign-backed and non-state groups in a meeting with Iranian officials.

The Jerusalem Post previously reported that Lebanon's disarmament of Palestinians could help pave the way to disarm Hezbollah and Hamas. Lebanon is now a test case for the region.

“The competent Palestinian authorities in Lebanon handed over the second batch of PLO weapons located in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, namely the Rashidieh, Al-Bass, and Burj al-Shamali camps, to the Lebanese army as a trust, on Thursday,” the report quoted Palestinian Authority presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh as saying. “The handover process will be completed to the remaining camps successively.”

Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.