Latest news with #Abbas'
Nahar Net
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Disarming Palestinian camps to start mid-June, official says after committee meeting
by Naharnet Newsdesk 5 hours The disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon will begin next month based on an accord with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Lebanese government official told AFP on Friday. The Lebanese and Palestinian sides agreed on starting a plan "to remove weapons from the camps, beginning mid-June in the Beirut camps, and other camps will follow," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese Army stays out of the Palestinian camps -- where Abbas' Fatah movement, militant group Hamas and other armed groups are present -- and leaves the factions to handle security. Abbas has been in Beirut since Wednesday for talks on disarming the Palestinian refugee camps as Lebanon seeks to impose its authority on all its territory. The deal came during the first meeting of a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee announced Wednesday to follow up on the situation in the camps. Lebanon's Director of General Security Hassan Choucair, chairman of the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee Ramez Dimashqieh, and Palestinian Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Azzam al-Ahmad attended the meeting. The meeting was also attended by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. A statement from the committee released by the premier's office said it agreed to "launch the process of handing over weapons according to a specific timetable, accompanied by practical steps to bolster the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees." Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency UNRWA, many living in 12 overcrowded official camps. Most are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948. They face a variety of legal restrictions in Lebanon, including on employment.
Nahar Net
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Lebanese government says disarming Palestinian camps to start mid-June
by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 May 2025, 14:26 The disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon will begin next month based on an accord with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Lebanese government official told AFP on Friday. The Lebanese and Palestinian sides agreed on starting a plan "to remove weapons from the camps, beginning mid-June in the Beirut camps, and other camps will follow," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese Army stays out of the Palestinian camps -- where Abbas' Fatah movement, militant group Hamas and other armed groups are present -- and leaves the factions to handle security. Abbas has been in Beirut since Wednesday for talks on disarming the Palestinian refugee camps as Lebanon seeks to impose its authority on all its territory. The deal came during the first meeting of a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee announced Wednesday to follow up on the situation in the camps. The meeting was also attended by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. A statement from the committee released by the premier's office said it agreed to "launch the process of handing over weapons according to a specific timetable, accompanied by practical steps to bolster the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees." Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency UNRWA, many living in 12 overcrowded official camps. Most are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948. They face a variety of legal restrictions in Lebanon, including on employment.
Nahar Net
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Abbas meets Aoun in Baabda, Palestinian weapons on his visit's agenda
by Naharnet Newsdesk 21 May 2025, 12:22 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Beirut on Wednesday for talks expected to include the disarmament of Palestinian refugee camps as Lebanon seeks to impose its authority on all its territory. It is Abbas' first visit since 2017 to Lebanon, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, 222,000 of them in overcrowded camps beyond the control of the Lebanese authorities. State media images showed Abbas arriving at the presidential palace and meeting President Joseph Aoun. "The issue of Palestinian weapons in the camps will be one of the topics on the agenda for discussion between president Abbas, the Lebanese president and the Lebanese government," said Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee accompanying Abbas. A Lebanese government source, who requested anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media, said Abbas' visit aims to establish a mechanism for removing weapons from the camps. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese Army stays out of the Palestinian camps -- where Abbas' Fatah movement, militant group Hamas and other armed groups are present -- and leaves the factions to handle security. Hamas has carried out several attacks on Israel from Lebanon during the war sparked by its October 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza. In an interview with Egyptian channel ON TV on Sunday, Aoun said "the monopoly of weapons should be in the hands of the state." The Lebanese Army has dismantled six Palestinian military training camps, Aoun said, "three in the Bekaa, one south of Beirut and two in the north," and "seized the weapons and destroyed all the facilities." The army has also been dismantling militant group Hezbollah's infrastructure in the south under the terms of a November ceasefire with Israel that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities, including two months of full-blown war. Majdalani said Abbas' visit came as Lebanon entered "a new era" in which it is receiving "Arab and American support." "What matters to us in this new regional context is that we do not become part of Lebanon's internal conflicts, and that the Palestinian cause is not exploited to serve any party," he added. The head of Hamas' national relations department in Lebanon, Ali Barakeh, said he hoped Abbas' talks with the Lebanese government would "take a comprehensive approach that does not only focus on the issue of weapons or the security aspect." "We affirm our respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, security and stability, and at the same time we demand the provision of civil and human rights for our Palestinian people in Lebanon," he said. According to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, 500,000 Palestinians are registered as refugees in Lebanon, most of them descendants of those who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948. Due to their refugee status, most are unable to work legally in Lebanon, an issue Majdalani said Abbas would also address during the meeting.
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Mohsin Naqvi visits drone attack victim in Rawalpindi hospital
Listen to article Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi to inquire about Tauqeer Abbas, who was injured in an Indian drone attack near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Tauqeer Abbas, whose cousin Ali Haider was martyred in the attack, is currently receiving medical treatment for injuries sustained to his eye. Minister Naqvi praised Abbas' courage and spoke with medical staff about the treatment plan, especially concerning his eye injury. The minister assured that every possible effort would be made to ensure Abbas' recovery, and directed the hospital to provide the best possible care. He also offered a special prayer for Abbas' swift recovery. Naqvi reiterated the importance of the sacrifices made by Pakistan's martyrs and expressed his heartfelt condolences. He also highlighted the selflessness of those affected by the attack, noting that Abbas, Haider, and their cousin Manzoor Faisal had supported their families by selling cheeseburgers near the cricket stadium. Previously, the Pakistan army intercepted and destroyed around 30 Israeli-made Herop drones, sent by India to target civilian and military installations on May 8, as the army soldiers inflicted heavy losses on the enemy at different locations on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. The downed drones were detected over multiple cities, including Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Attock, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana, Ghotki and Karachi's Malir district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. On the LoC, security sources said, Pakistani troops effectively responded to the Indian army's unprovoked firing in the Pando sector, destroying their battalion headquarters in Nanga Tak and inflicting heavy losses on them elsewhere. Loud explosions were heard in several of areas as Pakistan's air defence systems engaged the intruding drones. An ISPR official said that it was for the first time ever that this Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) – Heron MK 2s, which flies at altitudes as high as 35,000 feet – was neutralised during combat.
Middle East Eye
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Exclusive: Abbas to visit Lebanon with plan to disarm Palestinian factions
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit Lebanon on 19 May to announce the disarmament of Palestinian resistance factions, by force if necessary, Middle East Eye can reveal. Palestinian and Lebanese sources told MEE that Abbas will travel to Beirut on an official visit to meet the Lebanese president and other top officials. During the trip, Abbas will announce the demilitarisation of his own Fatah movement as well as other Palestinian factions based in refugee camps in Beirut and across Lebanon. Sources said Abbas has already agreed to a plan to remove Fatah's weapons from the camps. He will also explicitly call on other Palestinian factions fighting against the Israeli occupation to disarm—a move likely to be welcomed in Tel Aviv but one that could provoke serious unrest within Palestinian society. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters If these groups refuse, a military operation will reportedly target those who defy the Lebanese state's disarmament orders, the sources said. Abbas' decision to disarm Fatah and other factions followed a Saudi request, conveyed through the Saudi foreign minister - MEE source Abbas is expected to provide political cover for such an operation under the banner of the Palestinian leadership. A Palestinian source told MEE that Abbas intends to form a security committee tasked with overseeing the disarmament process and setting a clear timetable for the surrender of weapons. Should the factions fail to comply with the Lebanese state's directives and Abbas' decision, they will lose all organisational and political backing, clearing the path for military action by Lebanese forces to disarm the groups based in Palestinian refugees camps in the country. The sources also revealed that Abbas' decision to disarm Fatah and other factions followed a Saudi request, conveyed through the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Historic presence of Palestinian resistance group in Lebanon Palestinian resistance groups remain active in Lebanon's refugee camps due to historic displacement and ongoing political marginalisation. Following the creation of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent Arab-Israeli wars, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homes, with many seeking refuge in Lebanon. Over time, groups such as Fatah, and later Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), established a presence in the camps to continue their resistance against Israel. 'Hamas and other factions will not be allowed to endanger national stability' - Lebanese Brigadier General Mohammed al-Mustafa Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are still denied basic civil rights, including access to many professions and the right to own property. With limited opportunities, some join armed factions for protection, livelihood, or political representation. Many Palestinians also carry the memory of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, one of the most brutal episodes of Lebanon's civil war. After the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) withdrew under a US-brokered deal, which had previously defended the camps, Israeli backed Lebanese far-right militias entered Sabra and Shatila and massacred between 800 and 3,500 civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly. The Israeli army, in coordination with the Lebanese far-right militias, had surrounded the camps, sealed off the area, provided logistical support, and fired flares to light the night sky, enabling the slaughter. Now, in a dramatic shift, that long-standing armed presence faces dismantlement as regional powers push for a new security order in Lebanon Reshaping Lebanon's political landscape The move is seen as part of a broader effort to reshape Lebanon's political landscape amid Hezbollah's relative military decline following Israeli strikes that decapitated much of its leadership in 2024. Abbas's visit comes shortly after Lebanon's top security body issued a warning to Hamas on 2 May, threatening it with 'the harshest measures' if it launches attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory. The statement, delivered by the Higher Defence Council, followed a spate of arrests of Lebanese and Palestinian suspects allegedly involved in cross-border rocket fire targeting northern Israel in recent weeks. 'Hamas and other factions will not be allowed to endanger national stability,' said Brigadier General Mohammed al-Mustafa, reading the council's official communique. 'The safety of Lebanon's territories is above all.' Calls for Palestinian disarmament in Lebanon are not new. Palestine: Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president and likely successor Read More » They date back to the 1980s, when the Lebanese parliament annulled the 1969 Cairo Agreement, which had formalised the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) military presence in the country. Signed between by the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the Lebanese government under Egyptian mediation, the agreement granted the PLO the right to resist Israeli occupation from Lebanese territory for nearly two decades. Abbas has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of Palestinian resistance groups, even as Israel's war on Gaza, described by Amnesty International as a 'live-streamed genocide', continues. The 89-year-old president, who recently appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president and likely successor, has reserved his strongest condemnation since 7 October 2023 for Hamas. Last month, Abbas lashed out at Hamas 'sons of dogs' and demanded the group surrender and release all captives held in Gaza, accusing it of giving Israel a pretext to continue its onslaught on Gaza. At least 52,535 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. In the past 24 hours alone, Israeli strikes killed 40 people and injured 125, bringing the total number of wounded to 118,491.
