Lebanon says it received new shipment of arms surrendered from Palestinian refugee camp

The Lebanese military says the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh has surrendered some weapons and ammunition.

The handover was coordinated with Palestinian authorities and is part of Beirut’s plan to remove weapons from the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, the military says.

The Palestinian Authority’s National Security Forces say the arms handed over in Ain al-Hilweh today represent “the fifth batch of heavy weapons” that the Palestine Liberation Organization has surrendered to the Lebanese military in accordance with a May 21 joint statement by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Aoun, who took office in January, has sought to enforce a government monopoly on arms — usually seen as a veiled threat against Hezbollah, by far the largest armed group in Lebanon.

The PLO — which Abbas also leads as the head of its largest faction, Fatah — started surrendering arms to the Lebanese government in August, and last did so in September, according to Arabic media.

The Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network cites a PLO leader in Lebanon as saying Fatah is the only faction that is handing over its arms to the Lebanese military, while other factions, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have refused to do so due to Beirut’s long-standing restrictions on Palestinian refugees’ ability to work and own real estate in Lebanon.