Lebanon has completed the fifth phase of the weapons handover process inside Palestinian refugee camps, as part of a gradual plan aimed at fully resolving the issue of Palestinian arms outside state control, according to an official statement released on Tuesday.
The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee announced that Palestinian National Security Forces handed over a new batch of heavy weapons belonging to the Palestine Liberation Organization from Ain al-Hilweh Camp in the southern city of Sidon to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The committee said the latest handover represents another milestone in the phased roadmap designed to end the presence of Palestinian weapons in the camps, in line with Lebanese state sovereignty. The statement was published by the National News Agency.
According to the committee, the process is grounded in long-standing Lebanese state principles reaffirmed in the presidential oath speech, the government’s ministerial statement, a Cabinet decision issued on August 5, and a joint presidential statement released on May 21. These documents emphasize Lebanon’s full sovereignty, the exclusive authority of the state over weapons, and the necessity of ending all armed activity outside the framework of state legitimacy.
The committee stressed that Palestinian weapons inside the camps have become a burden on both Palestinians and Lebanese, noting that such arms no longer provide protection but instead fuel instability, harm surrounding areas, and hinder efforts to improve living and social conditions. It described the handover process as a key entry point for strengthening security and stability.
Reaffirming its commitment to completing the disarmament plan, the committee said the process will continue according to the agreed framework until the file is fully closed. It emphasized that dialogue with Palestinian political and social forces remains essential, while warning that dialogue must not be used as a pretext for delay or avoidance of commitments.
The committee called on Palestinian factions that publicly affirm respect for Lebanese sovereignty to translate their positions into concrete action by immediately handing over weapons without conditions or excuses, through direct coordination with the Lebanese army, as already done by the PLO.
The first phase of the weapons handover began on August 21, when arms from Burj al-Barajneh Camp were transferred to the Lebanese army. At the time, committee head Ramez Dimashqieh said the move marked the initial step in a broader process to be completed across all Palestinian camps.
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