A plan to disarm Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps is to move a step further as a senior Palestinian delegation visits Beirut to arrange "practical steps", The National has been told.
Despite the absence of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from the decision-making process, the delegation led by deputy head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Azzam Al Ahmad is in Beirut to discuss the next steps for implementing a multiphase plan to disarm Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps in the coming weeks, a Palestinian source close to the Palestinian Authority told The National on Monday.
“We aim to establish and agree on the operational steps for implementing the camp disarmament plan in line with the agreement between Presidents Aoun and Abbas,” the source said. “This visit is meant to organise those practical steps from both the Lebanese and Palestinian sides.”
However, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has not held any formal talks with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad regarding the disarmament of the refugee camps, the source confirmed.
“We have not held talks with Hamas or Islamic Jihad, though we did discuss the developments with some factions during President Abbas’s visit,” the source added.
The National previously reported that Hamas in Lebanon has criticised the Palestinian Authority’s decision to disarm the camps in co-ordination with Lebanese authorities, saying it was made without their input.
“We call on the Lebanese government to open a responsible dialogue with the Joint Palestinian Action Committee, which includes all Palestinian factions and forces, to discuss the Palestinian situation in all its aspects,” Hamas’s representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka, told The National in late May.
“Limiting the discussion to the security framework alone could open the door to the trap of resettlement or displacement, which is what [Israel] seeks,” he said.
Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha also criticised the initiative, describing the decision as “representing only the Palestinian Authority”.
According to the source close to the PA, the disarmament plan will begin in the three Beirut-area camps of Shatila, Bourj Al Barajneh, and Mar Elias, before expanding into the Bekaa and northern Lebanon. The final phase would see the camps in the south disarmed, ending with Ain Al Hilweh – the largest and most heavily armed of the 12 camps and the most likely challenge.
The issue of disarming Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, which fall outside Lebanese state control, has long been a contentious one. Armed groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – aligned with Hezbollah and committed to armed resistance against Israel – have previously used Lebanon as a launch pad for attacks across the border.
The Palestinian Authority is internationally recognised as the governing body of parts of the Palestinian territories, but its legitimacy is contested by many Palestinians. In Lebanon, Palestinian refugee camps are not governed by the PA, but by inter-factional committees – some of whom do not pledge loyalty to the PA.
While some Palestinians view weapons as essential for self-defence, citing memories of the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War, others say arms have become tools of internal strife and criminal activity.
Under a long-standing understanding, the Lebanese army does not enter the Palestinian camps, leaving security to be handled by the factions themselves. That agreement, however, may be coming to an end.
Lebanese security sources and Fatah officials previously told The National that the plan to disarm the camps will involve lifting the army’s non-intervention policy.
“The discussions during the visit are focused on camp security and preventing the camps from becoming havens for fugitives,” the Palestinian source said. “The Palestinian Authority does not want Palestinians to form a ‘state within a state,’ and we are ready to co-operate with any proposal put forward by the Lebanese authorities.”
Serhan Serhan, deputy secretary of Fatah in Lebanon, echoed that position.
“We believe and trust that the Lebanese army will stabilise Lebanon, and we are part of Lebanon,” he said. “We are ready to co-operate.”
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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Our legal columnist
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The view from The National
The 10 Questions
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- What is inside a black hole?
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
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