Simultaneously with Beddawi.. The Lebanese Army begins the fourth phase of weapon withdrawal from Ain al-Hilweh camp
The Lebanese Army announced today, Saturday, the start of the fourth operation of withdrawing weapons from Palestinian camps, which includes both Beddawi camp in the north and Ain al-Hilweh camp east of Sidon in the south.
Ain al-Hilweh camp is considered, according to media outlets and security observers, the "most dangerous" and the largest among the camps, making it the focus of this operation. The withdrawal process is scheduled to last for three days.
In this context, the Palestine Liberation Organization and its affiliated factions handed over a number of trucks of weapons, which included medium weapons and below, in addition to ammunition, mines, and rockets. The Palestinian Security Committee confirmed in a statement that it "delivered 5 trucks of weapons from Ain al-Hilweh camp and 3 from Beddawi to the army."
Negotiations are still ongoing with Hamas and Islamic Jihad to hand over their weapons, after they previously announced their refusal to do so.
This operation is a continuation of a series of operations that began last month (August) from Burj al-Barajneh camp in the southern suburbs of Beirut, followed by the withdrawal of weapons from camps in the southern Litani River area, namely Rashidiya, al-Bass, and Burj al-Shimali - Tyre.
All of these come as part of implementing the resolutions of the Lebanese-Palestinian summit held on May 21 between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which stipulated "Lebanon's sovereignty over its entire territory, the authority of the state, and the application of the principle of exclusive weapons in the hands of the Lebanese army."
Ain al-Hilweh camp poses a particular challenge due to the large amount of weapons present in the hands of multiple factions, in addition to the presence of extremist groups, and it has witnessed many confrontations and clashes in the past.
It is worth noting that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are distributed across 12 camps, namely: Ain al-Hilweh (the largest), Mieh Mieh, Rashidiya, al-Bass, Burj al-Shimali, Burj al-Barajneh, Sabra and Shatila, Mar Elias in Beirut, Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon, Beddawi in northern Lebanon, al-Wayfel in Baalbek, and Dhour al-Shweir in Mount Lebanon.
