Armed Palestinian men are seen firing live rounds into the air from an assault rifle during a funeral procession in the Beddawi camp [Getty]

A faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement operating in the Beddawi refugee camp near Tripoli in Lebanon is expected to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese army on Saturday, as part of Beirut’s efforts to assert exclusive control over arms in the country.

“The Lebanese Army will receive weapons tomorrow from PLO factions in the Beddawi camp,” a source in the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Friday.

“We may also see a handover in the Ain al-Hilweh camp in the south, but there are logistical issues that must be resolved beforehand, otherwise it will be postponed until early next week.”

Fatah is the dominant group within the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.

There have already been several handovers in recent weeks, including in the Burj al-Barajneh camp south of Beirut, and three camps surrounding the southern coastal city of Tyre.

Ain al-Hilweh, next to the southern port city of Sidon, is expected to constitute the biggest challenge. It has witnessed deadly clashes between rival militants in recent years.

The Lebanese government has reportedly considered leaving that camp – the largest out of Lebanon’s 12 – until last, due to these challenges.

Some of the camps are small and are considered to have a minor militant presence, or none at all.

While the disarmament process has so far been limited to Fatah, the Lebanese government has vowed that all militant groups will be disarmed.

It comes after a 21 May meeting in Beirut between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, who said all Palestinian groups in Lebanon’s camps must surrender their arms to the Lebanese state.

The plan was set to begin in mid-June but was delayed for about two months due to stark differences among Palestinian groups.

Fatah rival Hamas, which governs the war-torn Gaza Strip, had publicly said it will refused to hand over its weapons before a comprehensive deal was reached that addresses security guarantees and refugee rights.

Beirut has said it will work on improving civil and social rights for the country’s Palestinian refugees, estimated to be somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 according to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.

The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee reiterated that the disarmament process will continue “with utmost seriousness and can no longer be reversed”.

“This path reflects a firm commitment to the principle of Lebanese state sovereignty and the extension of its full authority over all its territory, with arms exclusively in the hands of its legitimate institutions and no one else,” it said.

South Lebanon strikes

Since becoming head of state, Aoun, as well as Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and his government, have reaffirmed that all militant groups in Lebanon will be disarmed, namely Iran-backed Hezbollah as well as armed Palestinian movements.

Salam’s cabinet made an unprecedented decision in early August to begin fully disarming Hezbollah in line with a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel following last year’s war. Earlier this month, the cabinet approved an army plan – which remains confidential – on disarming the group.

The army, alongside UN peacekeepers, have already dismantled most of Hezbollah’s sites south of the Litani River, closer to the Israeli border. The army said this will continue for the next three months before moving to other regions.

Hezbollah came out heavily weakened from the war last year, with much of its leadership and arsenal decimated.

Despite the 27 November 2024 ceasefire deal, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on parts of Lebanon, under the pretext of stopping Hezbollah from rebuilding itself in any capacity.

On Friday morning an Israeli drone strike targeted a car in the southern town of Aita al-Jabal and injured two people, according to the health ministry. But local media said at least one missile did not explode.

A string of Israeli airstrikes targeted east and south Lebanon on Thursday, which the Israeli military claimed hit Hezbollah weapons depots and other sites.

Israel is obliged to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon under the ceasefire deal, but still occupies at least five border points deemed strategic. It says it will only leave once Hezbollah is fully disarmed.

Aoun and Salam have repeatedly called on the US to pressure Israel to remove its troops from Lebanon and respect its end of the ceasefire deal.