The disarmament of Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps is likely to be delayed beyond a mid-June deadline, a Palestinian source told The National.
An official within the Fatah movement in Lebanon said the plan will not be put into effect until after a Palestinian delegation headed by Azaam Al Ahmad returns to Beirut to meet representatives of all Palestinian factions.
“The discussion [of disarmament] has been postponed until after Azaam Al Ahmad arrives in Lebanon,” the source said, adding that Mr Al Ahmad was not expected until “after June 15”.
He is the deputy head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), second to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who devised the agreement with Lebanese leaders.
“When Azaam al Ahmad was here, he was supposed to also meet with the coalition which includes Hamas, but their leaders were traveling,” the source said.
He declined to provide an exact date.
Mid-June was given as a start date for the beginning of the disarmament process for Palestinian factions in Lebanon. Lebanese political sources and officials within the Fatah movement, the dominant political party within the PLO, had said the disarmament would begin with Beirut camps Shatila, Burj Al Barajneh, and Mar Elias.
Hamas in Lebanon has dismissed the disarmament plan agreed upon by Mr Abbas and Lebanese leaders as “unilateral”, saying they had been left out of the agreement between Palestinian officials and Lebanese leaders. The disarmament plan represents only Hamas's main opponent, the Palestinian Authority, the movement has said.
Hamas also said it was never formally informed of a decision to disarm the camps, insisting on a dialogue of representatives from all Palestinian factions – including a coalition of factions that includes Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other Islamist groups not under the authority of the PLO.
The disarmament decision has also stirred controversy within Palestinian factions in Lebanon that also hold membership in the PLO, which contains representatives of a diverse array of Palestinian factions with varying ideologies.
On Friday, a statement by the Lebanese branch of the Popular Struggle Front, a PLO member, was critical of the unilateral nature of the disarmament decision, saying the agreement was never presented to all Palestinian factions in Lebanon.
“It would have been more appropriate for the owner of the vision and ideas to present them” to representatives of the joint factions in Lebanon, said Tamer Aziz Abu Al Abed, a representative of the Struggle Front.
He added that the plan had not achieved a majority of Palestinian confidence or approval in Lebanon.
“We hope in the coming days to put all the papers up for discussion with the presidential delegation coming to Lebanon,” he said.
The issue of disarming Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps, which are not under Lebanese state control, has long been contentious. Groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, dedicated to armed resistance against Israel and allied with Hezbollah, have frequently used Lebanon as a base to launch rockets at Israel.
Disarming the camps comes under a broader initiative by Lebanese leaders to limit and disarm non-state forces. But the memory of Lebanon's 1975–1990 civil war – during which Palestinian militias were among the main participants, alongside a series of Lebanese factions and international proxies – still lingers for many Palestinians, who view weapons as essential for self-defence.
Weaponry also holds deep symbolic value for Palestinians in Lebanon, many of whom were expelled from their land in 1948 during the Nakba, which marked the creation of what is now Israel. For them, arms represent not only protection but a continuing struggle to return to their homeland.
Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom live in the 12 overcrowded camps, according to the UN agency UNRWA.
Most are direct refugees or descendants of Palestinians who were expelled from their land during a violent mass removal that led to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. They face a variety of legal restrictions in Lebanon, including on employment.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
The five pillars of Islam
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AVOID SCAMMERS: TIPS FROM EMIRATES NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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