Latest news with #Lebanese-Palestinian
Jordan News
2 days ago
- Business
- Jordan News
Lebanese President: Lifting U.S. Sanctions on Syria Would Help Resolve Refugee Crisis - Jordan News
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stated on Monday that beginning to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria is a positive step, as improving the Syrian economy would help address the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. He emphasized that refugees must return to contribute to the revival of their country's economy. اضافة اعلان During a meeting with a U.S. delegation led by Senator Angus King, Aoun said that the United Nations should provide aid to refugees within Syria, not in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese National News Agency. He added that Lebanese-Palestinian committees have been formed, and starting mid-next month, work will begin in three Palestinian camps in Beirut to address the issue of Palestinian arms within them. The U.S. Treasury Department recently issued a general license authorizing transactions involving the Syrian government led by President Ahmad Al-Shara, as well as the Central Bank and state-owned companies.
Nahar Net
3 days ago
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Aoun confirms disarmament to start mid-June in 3 Palestinian camps in Beirut
by Naharnet Newsdesk 26 May 2025, 12:30 The disarmament of the first Palestinian camps in Lebanon will begin in mid-June in three Beirut camps, President Joseph Aoun confirmed Monday. A joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee met for the first time last week following an accord between Lebanese and Palestinian leaders on disarming Palestinian camps as Lebanon seeks to impose its authority on all its territory. 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," a Lebanese government official told AFP on Friday. 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.
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Aoun, Abbas: Only state holds arms
Hamas affirms respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, demands civil rights for Palestinians BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met in Beirut on Wednesday and backed placing all weapons under Lebanese state control, as they discussed efforts to disarm armed groups in Palestinian refugee camps. A joint statement from the Lebanese presidency said the two leaders shared the "belief that the era of weapons outside Lebanese state control has ended" and backed the principle that arms should be held exclusively by the state. Abbas's three-day trip is his first to Lebanon since 2017. The country hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency UNRWA, many living in overcrowded camps beyond state control. A Lebanese government source said Abbas's visit aimed to set up a mechanism to remove weapons from the camps. The source requested anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the media. The statement said the two sides agreed "to form a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee to follow up on the situation of Palestinian camps in Lebanon and work on improving the living conditions of refugees, while respecting Lebanese sovereignty and committing to Lebanese laws". By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army stays out of the Palestinian camps, where Abbas's Fatah, its rival Hamas and other armed groups handle security. "The monopoly of weapons should be in the hands of the state," Aoun said in an interview with Egyptian channel ON TV on Sunday. The army, he added, had dismantled six Palestinian military training camps — three in Bekaa, one south of Beirut and two in the north — and seized weapons. The army has also been dismantling militant group Hezbollah's infrastructure in the country's south. 'A new era' Ahmad Majdalani, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official accompanying Abbas, said the 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," he said, "and that the Palestinian cause is not exploited to serve any party." Ali Barakeh, a senior Hamas official in Lebanon, said he hoped Abbas's talks would take a broader approach than just weapons and security. "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. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are mostly descendants of those who were expelled from their land during the creation of the Zionist entity in 1948. They face a variety of legal restrictions including on employment. — AFP
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lebanon launches process to disarm Palestinian factions in refugee camps
A joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee tasked with the removal of weapons held by Palestinian factions in Lebanon's refugee camps has met for the first time to begin hashing out a timetable for disarming the groups. The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, a government body serving as interlocutor between Palestinian refugees and officials, met on Friday with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in attendance. The group said that 'participants agreed to launch a process for the disarmament of weapons according to a specific timetable'. It added that it also aimed to take steps to 'enhance the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees'. A Lebanese government source told the news agency AFP that disarmament in the country's 12 official camps for Palestinian refugees, which host multiple Palestinian factions, including Fatah, its rivals Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and a range of other groups, could begin in mid-June. Under a decades-old agreement, Lebanese authorities do not control the camps, where security is managed by Palestinian factions. The meeting comes as the Lebanese government faces increasing international pressure to remove weapons from the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel last year. 'The message is clear. There is a new era, a new balance of power, and a new leadership in Lebanon, which is pushing ahead with monopolising arms in the hands of the state,' said Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut. 'It has already begun to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, and the next phase appears to be the disarmament of Palestinian groups in camps before it addresses the issue of Hezbollah's weapons in the rest of the country,' she this week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, dominated by his Fatah party, visited Lebanon and said in a speech that the weapons in the camps 'hurt Lebanon and the Palestinian cause'. During Abbas's visit, he and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced an agreement that Palestinian factions would not use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel, and that weapons would be consolidated under the authority of the Lebanese government. Al Jazeera's Khodr signalled that several factions appeared to be against disarmement. 'While Abbas's Palestinian Authority may be recognised internationally as the representative body of the Palestinian people, there are many armed groups, among them, Hamas and [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad, who … believe in armed struggle against Israel,' she said. 'Without consensus among the factions, stability could remain elusive.'
Nahar Net
5 days ago
- 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.
